The normal function of RBC CR1 is to regulate complement activation and to transfer immune complexes to phagocytic cells in the liver and spleen.3 In malaria, CR1 acts as a receptor on RBCs for both P. falciparum invasion4, 5, 6, 7 and rosette formation, in which two or more uninfected RBCs bind to a P. falciparum parasitised RBC in vitro. Here, CR1 is linked to malaria.