John Moulds Lecture: Blood Group Discoveries: A Never-Ending Journey!

Course overview

Since 2012, there has been a huge explosion in the number of blood group systems, with 18 of them discovered in just 13 years! These were either completely new or corresponded to the elucidation of the molecular basis of already known antigens (collections/901 series). One might wonder what methodological/technical approaches were used for such discoveries, but also whether the list of systems and antigens will ever come to an end. This presentation will describe the process of characterization of antibodies to an antigen of undetermined specificity and explain why this may present major implications in other fields than transfusion medicine.