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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February
26, 2004.
New
data published in the journal Transfusion (Roback JD, Barclay S,
Hillyer CD. Transfusion 2004;44:187-196) shows that the Guava PCA
and PCA-96 cell analysis systems can perform blood typing and compatibility
testing with great accuracy and sensitivity in the research setting.
New
study demonstrates accurate ABO blood typing and compatibility testing
..
New
data published in the journal Transfusion (Roback JD, Barclay S,
Hillyer CD. Transfusion 2004;44:187-196) shows that the Guava PCA
and PCA-96 cell analysis systems can perform blood typing and compatibility
testing with great accuracy and sensitivity in the research setting.

Scientists
at the Emory University School of Medicine demonstrated that blood
typing results obtained using either of the Guava PCA systems was
of comparable or greater accuracy than that obtained by the currently
used Ortho Clinical Diagnostics ID-Micro Typing System.
"Our
findings support the feasibility of using Guava's microcapillary
cytometry technology as the basis for a fully automated system that
offers great accuracy, sensitivity, and quantitation for pre-transfusion
blood testing in an easy-to-use benchtop format," said John
Roback, MD, PhD, lead author of the article and assistant professor
of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of
Medicine.
The
researchers tested blood samples from 749 hospitalised patients
for ABO group and D type, and samples from a smaller group of 428
patients for rare blood incompatibilities (unexpected alloantibodies)
using both Guava systems. These results were compared with data
from analysis of the same samples using the ID-Micro Typing System.
Discrepancies between the two methods were resolved using tube testing.
The accuracy of testing when using the Guava PCA systems was comparable
to the ID-Micro Typing System for analysis of normal blood samples,
and the Guava PCA systems performed better than the ID-Micro Typing
System in detecting weak antibodies and mixed-field reactions.
"The
majority of blood products used in transfusion medicine are cellular
products," commented Peter Christey, Ph.D., vice president,
partnerships and new markets at Guava Technologies. "The Guava
PCA and PCA-96 are highly versatile, easy-to-use systems for conducting
cell analyses. They offer the potential to perform on a single instrument
a number of quality control (QC) and product characterisation assays
in transfusion medicine such as ABO typing, leukocyte reduction
QC, cell counting, bacterial detection, antibody screening and other
applications. The data generated by the team at Emory University
illustrate the capabilities of the Guava in a core blood banking
application."
According
to the American Association of Blood Banks, demand for blood in
the United States averages 38,000 units of red blood cells daily.
In all cases, donated red blood cells must be carefully matched
as to type and other immunological factors with the recipient patient
prior to transfusion.
Guava
Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of integrated, fully optimised
microcytometry and cell counting systems. Guava serves the worldwide
life science, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, offering
a state-of-the-art, comprehensive portfolio of products designed
to accelerate discovery and increase productivity right at the laboratory
bench with accessible, easy-to-use solutions to the biologist's
testing problems. Guava's products have broad applications in scientific
research, drug discovery, cell counting, and optimisation of commercial
bioproduction. Guava's technology also offers potential for use
in clinical testing and blood processing, as well as other areas
where single cell counting is important.
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