Tissue typing

During tissue typing, an individual's human leukocyte antigens (HLA) are identified.

[3] More specifically, HLA mismatches between organ donors and recipients can lead to the development of anti-HLA donor-specific antibodies (DSAs).

In this technique, a donor's blood cells are HLA typed by mixing them with serum containing anti-HLA antibodies.

This allows for identification of the cells' HLA based indirectly on the specificity of the known antibodies in the serum.

In this method, an unknown HLA sample is mixed with a reference allele and run in a gel by electrophoresis.

Mapping of HLA loci on chromosome 6
This diagram shows serological typing. In the top half of the diagram, the correct antibody for the HLA type of the cell was added, so complement activation occurred, leading to cell lysis. Cell lysis indicates that the antibody added matched the HLA type of the cell, so the HLA type of the cell is then known. In the bottom half of the diagram, an HLA antibody that did not match the cell's HLA type was added, so there was no complement activation, and no cell lysis occurred.