What must be done if a high-titer cold antibody is suspected?

When a high-titer cold antibody is suspected, performing an autoabsorption is a crucial step. Autoabsorption serves to remove or reduce the effect of the patient's own antibodies in test samples, allowing for clearer interpretation of other serological tests, such as those assessing for underlying alloantibodies or ensuring the accuracy of blood typing.

In the case of high-titer cold antibodies, such as those that may cause hemolytic anemia or interfere with crossmatching, autoabsorption helps to reduce the levels of the unwanted antibodies. This way, any potential clinically significant antibodies present can be detected without interference from high-titer cold antibodies.

Other methods, like running a direct antiglobulin test or saline dilution tests, may not successfully address the issue of high-titer cold antibodies interfering with results, as they do not adequately alter the antibody levels for proper diagnostic clarity. Meanwhile, using a warm saline technique could help with the reactivity issues caused by cold antibodies, but it does not resolve the underlying problem of their presence and potential clinical impact.