Extensive clinical, serologic and molecular studies lead to the first reported Rh phenotype in Argentina.

Background: A highly reduced expression of Rh antigens in the erythrocyte membrane is the main feature of Rh , an extremely rare phenotype. Mutations within RHAG gene, which encodes RhAG glycoprotein and modulates Rh antigen expression and Rh complex formation, are the molecular events responsible for the Rh phenotype. Here we report a clinical, serologic, and molecular study of an Argentinean proband with Rh-deficiency syndrome.

Use of the erythrophagocytosis assay for predicting the clinical consequences of immune blood cell destruction.

The erythrophagocytosis assay is a useful parameter to evaluate the immune erythrocyte destruction occurring in vivo. The aim of this work was to use this assay in: a) the diagnostic and therapeutic assessment of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA), b) the selection of blood for immunized patients requiring transfusion and c) the prediction of the severity of haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN). This assay was also used to study the physiological removal of senescent erythrocytes from the circulation.