The HUG Hemostasis Laboratory has offered platelet immunology tests for several years. The following tests are currently available:
- anti-platelet antibody testing (platelet-bound and circulating anti-platelet antibodies);
- anti-platelet alloantibody testing (circulating anti-platelet antibodies with cross-match test between maternal serum and paternal platelets) and alloantibody typing (using a donor panel);
- platelet genotyping (from a blood sample or sample from amniotic fluid).
The HUG Hemostasis Laboratory participates in external quality controls with the NIBSC (National Institute for Biological Standards and Control) and in various international workshops.
The HUG Hemostasis Laboratory has biological expertise as well as clinical expertise, in particular with regard to the diagnosis and treatment of fetomaternal alloimmunizations. Dr. Françoise Boehlen, senior staff physician in the Angiology and Hemostasis Division, is the co-leader, with Dr. Gérald Bertrand (biologist at the Etablissement Français du Sang de Bretagne [French National Blood Service of Brittany]), of a working group on fetomaternal alloimmunization as part of the GFHT (Groupe Français d’étude sur l’Hémostase et la Thrombose [French Study Group on Hemostasis and Thrombosis]).
Moreover, a national registry of HPA- (and generally HLA-) typed blood and marrow donors is available in Switzerland. The platelet typing of these donors comes from various transfusion centers in Switzerland and is carried out by the HUG Hemostasis Laboratory, which is also responsible for maintaining this registry. This project is funded by the Swiss Red Cross (Transfusion CRS Suisse SA).