Molecular Genotyping in Transfusion Medicine

SNPs account for much of human genome diversity, and the ability to link SNPs to disease or disease risk, and even to individual variation in drug responses, makes SNP profiling a technology likely to contribute to fulfilling the promise of personalized medicine. Until recently, SNP typing for transfusion medicine has been limited primarily to reference laboratory environments; however, with the development of high-throughput platforms, testing is poised to move into the mainstream to revolutionize the provision of antigen-negative blood and RBC units antigen-matched at multiple blood group loci to recipients. The challenge for the next decade lies in integrating such testing into the blood bank environment, standardizing methods, obtaining Food and Drug Administration approval for labeling donor units, and enhancing information systems to incorporate and use this new information effectively.