Blood grouping with a miniature Centrifugal Fast Analyzer.

The Centrifugal Fast Analyzer was used to develop a semiautomated, computerized blood-grouping system. A miniaturized version of the Analyzer was used for the development because, essentially, it enables one to automate "test-tube" grouping procedures. The blood-grouping system is discussed in terms of adaptation of blood-grouping procedures; types of instrumentation used for grouping, cell washing, and Coombs testing; parametric optimization of hemagglutination reactions; subgrouping of A and AB; reverse typing; small-scale blood-grouping evaluation of our approach; and computerization of blood grouping. The data reported here indicate that the system reliably provides accurate results.