• The Korean Journal of Blood Transfusion
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.169-172
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• 2012

Lutheran a antigen ($Lu^a$) is detected in 6 to 8% of Caucasians and Africans. In Korean and other Asian populations, it is very rare or nearly absent. Therefore, although $Lu^a$ has a considerable immunizing capacity, sensitization to $Lu^a$ is a rare event. Here we report on a rare case of anti-$Lu^a$ in a 70 year-old female patient with Lu (a-/b+) phenotype and review the relevant literature. Due to the paucity of $Lu^a$ positive panel cells in antibody screening and identification tests, detection of this rare antibody to $Lu^a$ antigen is not feasible. Therefore, we should keep in mind the possibility of the misleading false negative result in detection of antibody to this low incidence antigen.