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Indirect coombs test

a test routinely performed in cross-matching blood or in the investigation of transfusion reaction: test for patients serum is incubated with a suspension of donor erythrocytes; if specific antibodies are present, they become attached to the antigen in donor's cells; after a washing with saline, Coombs' antihuman globulin is added; agglutination at this point indicates that antibodies present in the original test serum had indeed become attached to donor erythrocytes.