Monoclonal Antibodies as Tools for the Immunohematologist

Exactly ten years ago Kohler and Milstein [1] described their Nobel Prize winning work on the the production of murine monoclonal antibodies. The scientific and commercial value of their method was immediately recognized by themselves and by others [2]. Now ten years later it is clear that no other immunological discovery has had so much impact on biomedical sciences in general and has contributed so significantly to the newly emerging discipline of biotechnology. For immunohematologists and blood bankers monoclonal antibodies (McAb) are rapidly becoming daily tools, which will increasingly take over their familiar polyclonal antibodies. But also McAb technology will shortly lead to the emergence of new serological methods. This because nearly no protein reagent can so easily be obtained in such a high quality, specificity and purity and in such unlimited amounts as McAb.