Monoclonal antibodies specific for blood groups A and B

Monoclonal antibodies have been produced with specificity for human blood group A following the immunization of mice with group A1 cells. The antibodies produced were of low titre and poor avidity and were therefore unsuitable as manual grouping reagents. However, in 6,524 automated tests on the Technicon BG15 monoclonal anti-A performed as well as the standard human anti-A reagent. Monoclonal anti-B antibodies were produced from a BALB/c mouse immunized with a combination of group B cells and B substance. One antibody, B/C9/F7, performed well in screening tests with avidity reactions less than 10 seconds with all B, A1B and A2B cells tested. This antibody performed with 100% accuracy in an automated test trial involving 1,018 samples. The suitability of these antibodies as blood grouping reagents is discussed.