Which pretransfusion test must be determined for an autologous transfusion recipient?

• A. ABO/Rh testing
• B. Antibody screen
• C. Crossmatch
• D. HLA typing

Answer: (A)

The essential step is confirming the patient’s ABO and Rh type before transfusion. Even when the patient is receiving their own stored blood, verifying ABO and D antigen status ensures the autologous unit truly matches the recipient’s current blood group and avoids a dangerous ABO mismatch that could occur due to labeling or storage errors. Because the donor and recipient are the same person, there’s no foreign donor to screen for antibodies against, so an antibody screen and crossmatch are not routinely required for autologous red cell units. HLA typing is reserved for platelet transfusions or transplantation contexts, not for autologous red cell transfusion.