Future of molecular testing for red blood cell antigens.

When one looks at the field of molecular pathology or transplantation, it is evident that molecular biology has made a positive impact on medicine. However, the progress in transfusion medicine has been slower and more cautious than in other areas of the clinical laboratory. To understand where the field may go in the next 10 years requires that the reader understand what technology is available now. Therefore, this article discusses the current state of the art for red-cell genotyping and newer, ever-evolving molecular technologies. Because it is impossible to present all of the molecular techniques and their variations in this article, the author selects a group of methodologies to review and speculates where the field of molecular immunohematology may be in 2020. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.