Immune Thrombocytopenias

Immune Thrombocytopenias

• Overview

  Thrombocytopenias due to increased destruction are often caused by antibodies that bind to platelets and result in increased clearance from circulation. Antibodies can form against platelet-specific alloantigens and neoantigens that are created when a drug binds to a platelet membrane protein. Platelet antibodies are important in clinical conditions including:

  • Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia 
  • Drug-induced thrombocytopenia (including Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia or HIT) 
  • Idiopathic thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP) 
  • Platelet alloantigen sensitization due to transfusion

   

  With our highly developed testing methods, advanced facilities,and some of the world’s leading experts, Versiti helps physicians diagnose and determine the best course of treatment for patients with these challenging conditions.

• Approach

  Technically demanding assays for actionable results.

  The Platelet & Neutrophil Immunology Laboratory (PNIL) at BloodCenter of Wisconsin, part of Versiti, is internationally known for its testing in Immune Thrombocytopenias. BloodCenter is one of a handful of labs in the U.S. that performs the technically demanding Serotonin Release Assay to detect antibodies that cause Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT). The laboratory has also developed highly sensitive assays for the detection and identification of antibodies directed to platelet alloantigens.