Nomenclature of platelet‐specific antigens

To the Editor: Improvement in the methodology of detection of platelet antigens has led to the discovery of a number of new plateletspecific alloantigen systems. However, many of the new systems as well as the older ones are known under different names. To avoid confusion, the Working Party on Platelet Serology decided to formulate a new nomenclature for such antigen systems. The rules for this nomenclature are as follows: 1. Platelet-specific antigen systems will be called HPA for human platelet antigen(s); 2. The different antigen systems will be numbered chronologically in order of the date of publication; 3. The allelic antigens will be designated alphabetically in order of their frequency (from high to low) in the population; and 4. The inclusion of new HPA systems will require the approval of the Working Party. Table 1 shows the HPA systems recognized to date. The PIE system has not been included because anti-PIE' was probably an isoantibody from the blood of a patient with Bernard Soulier syndrome, and anti-PIE2 is no longer available.' The working Party on Platelet Serology organized by the Expert Panel on Serology of the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) and the International Committee for Standardization in Haematology (ICSH) included the members: A. von dem Borne (President), Amsterdam, The Netherlands; F. Dtcary (Secretary), Montreal, Quebec, Canada; J. Kelton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; N. Buskard and P. Ballem, Vancouver, BC, Canada; C. van Dalen, Amsterdam; A. Brand, J. van Rood, and F. Claas, Leiden, the Netherlands; W. Ouwehand, Cambridge, UK; R. Doughty, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK; A. Waters, P. Metcalfe, and M. Contreras, London, UK; J. McFarland, R. Aster, and T. Kunicki, Milwaukee, WI; S . Slichter and G. Teramura, Seattle, WA; D. Christie and J. McCullough, Minneapolis, MN; P. Lalezari, New York, NY; L. Petz, Los Angeles, CA; W. Rosse, Durham, NC; C. Kaplan, Pans, France; R. Kekomaki, Helsinki, Finland; C. MeullerEckhardt, Giessen, FRG; R. Nordhagen, Oslo, Norway; A. Ribera, Barcelona, Spain; E. Taaning, Hvidore, Denmark; I. Cunningham, Melbourne, Australia; and R. Minchinton, Brisbane, Australia. This proposal has been approved by the Japanese Workshop for Platelet Serology. Members of the Japanese Workshop on Platelet Serology were T. Tuji (President), Y. Shibata (Chairman), and H. Saji (Secretary-General). ALBERT E.G. VON DEM BORNE, MD Central Laboralory of the Netherlands Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, Amsterdam, The Nefherlarids FRANCINE D ~ C A R Y , MD Canadian Red Cross Bood Transfusion Service Montreal, Quebec, Canada