Validation of a human paper-based blood typing method for use in pet pigs

Background: Evidence-based medical practices for pet pigs are needed. EldonCard is a human blood-typing card shown to be rapid and reliable in identifying blood pheno-types of pet pigs. The objective of this study was to validate EldonCard by determining its reliability, reproducibility, and robustness for its routine use in the clinical setting. Key Findings: Twenty-four venous blood samples from pet pigs were collected for a prospective in vitro study. Blood genotypes ("EAA(A0)" and "EAA(00)") were identified in 15 samples via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All samples were phenotyped ("A," "A(weak)," and "0" or "-") via EldonCard. Kappa (?) statistics measured the level of agree-ment between 2 raters, and between EldonCard and PCR. McNemar's test determined if an association between the blood types and EldonCard or PCR exists, with signifi-cance at P < 0.05. Agreement between raters and methods was perfect (60/60 [100%], ?:1, P < 0.001; 15/15 [100%], ?:1, P < 0.001). There was no difference in the proportions of blood groups based on method.Significance: In conjunction with previous data, EldonCard isa rapid, accurate, reliable, precise, and robust in-clinic blood-typing method for the A0 system of pet pigs. Eldon -Card is now a validated blood-typing tool for the A0 system of pet pigs and maybe used for pretransfusion screenings and identification of donors and recipients.