by Joe Chaffin | Mar 11, 2016
Glossary Elution In general, to remove/extract one material from another. In blood bank world, the term refers to removing (or “dissociating”) an antibody that is attached to the surface of a red blood cell. This procedure is most commonly used in...
by Joe Chaffin | Mar 11, 2016
Glossary Endothelial Cells The cells lining blood vessels throughout the body. These cells play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the vascular system, and they are far more complex than they appear at first! They are NOT just cells that sit passively on...
by Joe Chaffin | Mar 11, 2016
Glossary Enzymes Obviously, in general, enzymes are proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions. Typically, when blood bankers talk about the “enzyme effect,” we are referring to the effect that proteolytic enzymes (enzymes that help break down proteins)...
by Joe Chaffin | Mar 11, 2016
Glossary Epitope An immunology term that refers to the specific portion of an antigen that stimulates an immune response, and the part of the antigen to which the antibody actually binds. So, an epitope is generally a smaller portion of a larger antigen molecule...
by Joe Chaffin | Mar 11, 2016
Glossary Extravascular Hemolysis In contrast to intravascular hemolysis, this is the type of hemolysis typically seen when IgG antibodies (instead of IgM) coat incompatible RBCs. Since IgG isn’t generally great at activating the complement system, these...
