Readers' Questions About Rh-negative Blood Types and Complications

24 Comments:

• At Sun Jan 13, 09:28:00 AM 2008,  Anonymous said…

  eZVI am rh- and allso one member of my immidate family is also. After one of my children were born i find out it is also RH-a male child how rare is this? Is it possable that one of my parents was not RH-?
  annomyous two

   

• At Wed Jan 16, 07:47:00 PM 2008,  Kenneth F. Trofatter, Jr., MD, PhD said…

  To anonymous Jan 13: One or BOTH of your parents could have been Rh-positive and heterozygous for the Rh-D gene! If you are Rh-negative and you have an Rh-negative child, then your partner must be either Rh-negative like you or be heterozygous for Rh-D (one chromosome with the Rh-D gene and one chromosome without it). If your partner is Rh-negative, then ALL your children will be Rh-negative; if your partner is heterozygous for the Rh-D gene, then half your children will be Rh-negative and half will be Rh-positive (and heterozygous). It only takes one dose of the Rh-D gene to make you look Rh-positive. I bet this is still confusing, but I hope this helps! Dr T

   

• At Mon Feb 25, 02:49:00 AM 2008,  Tera said…

  Please respond asap. I am O neg and Rh neg. I have 2 children from a previous marriage (that are 12 and 13 yrs of age) and remarried and I am now about 6 mos post partum from a AB pos father. I did not receive the Rhogam shot postpartum and my 6 mos old is Rh positive. Recently I had a miscarriage. I am very concerned regarding future pregnancy (I plan on having one more child before I turn 40). I beleive that perhaps being 'sensitized' and not receving the Rhogam may have contributed to my miscarriage, and am very concerned on my future pregnancy attempt. I asked the nurse after delivering my daughter about receiving my Rhogam shot and was told it was not necessary? The nurse told me she would look into it but never returned I was transfered to another room after delivery and soon forgot to remind the nurses and doctors before leaving the hospital...please tell me how this will or could effect me...I desperately want another child yet the miscarrige has been very difficult on both me and my husband...it was in the ER when they came in to give me the Rhogam postmiscarriage that I realized that indeed an injection should have been given post delivery...my husbands email is jesselayinpipe101@yahoo.com (he is a plumber)...I have been up researching online and stumbled upon your website...I am not computer savy and fear I may not be able to find the site again for your response.
  Thank you for your time and consideration.
  Sincerly,
  Tera

   

• At Wed Feb 27, 06:22:00 PM 2008,  Kenneth F. Trofatter, Jr., MD, PhD said…

  To Tera Feb 25: Tera, even if you are Rh-sensitized (and you probably are NOT) that would not have caused an early miscarriage. I wrote a series of blogs in March and April 2007 regarding miscarriage and recurrent early pregnancy loss. You might want to read them. Thanks for reading. Dr T

   

• At Fri May 23, 08:37:00 AM 2008,  Anonymous said…

  I am now 19 weeks along and RH sensitized. I've had my titers checked 4 times, at 6ish weeks my titers jumped from 0 to 1:135 since then, the last 3 times we've checked them they've stayed constant at the 1:135. I also had an ultrasound done at 17 weeks- they said it was too early for the MCA doppler but did look for any signs of hydrops etc. and found nothing. Considering all this, would this lead you to believe my baby is RH- like me?

   

• At Sat Jun 14, 09:17:00 AM 2008,  Kenneth F. Trofatter, Jr., MD, PhD said…

  To anonymous May 23: Somehow I missed your post. I apologize. No, with that dramatic increase in antibody titer, I suspect the baby is Rh-positive and the appropriate screening follow-up will be by MCA Dopplers. Good luck and let us know how things turn out! Dr T

   

• At Wed Jul 30, 01:29:00 PM 2008,  Anonymous said…

  I am a 30 year old woman, at 31 weeks pregnant. Second pregnancy, the first resulting in full term, healthy delivery, no problems.
  i have just been diagnosed today after 28 week bloods, as anti jkb titre 1;2 against heterozygous cells - jk type, jka+ and jkb-. with possible risk of hdn.
  my midwife has never come across this antibody before and doesnt have any information to give me. i am confused and scared. I cannot get an appointment to be seen by the obs ward for another fortnight! bloods are being done tomorrow to find out if the titre level has risen. for me though, i dont even understand what the condition is, what it means for me or my baby or what needs to be done. let alone what the titre system represents. my midwife is trying her best to find out more information but currently i am stressing out and feel i need to do something myself. i have scoured the internet and have just ended up more confused that before. any information or advice you can give me, would be so gratefully received. i do not want to leave this to chance and want as much back ground knowledge as possible.
  
  thanks and kind regards
  stacey howell

   

• At Thu Aug 07, 05:32:00 PM 2008,  Kenneth F. Trofatter, Jr., MD, PhD said…

  To Stacey: Jka (or Kidd) antigen is one of those red blood cell substances that can lead to hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn if you have antibodies to it AND if the baby actually carries the antigen. You have a very small amount (low titer) of these antibodies in your blood at this time and the baby is at VERY low risk of deveopling any complications over the next month until you have had a chance to see the consultant. Aside from serially checking the antibody titer, they will offer you the opportunity to have the baby screened noninvasively by performing Doppler flow studies (peak systolic velocities - PSV)by ultrasound on the baby's middle cerebral artery - this has become the standard of care for the initial screening for fetal anemia. Hang in there, you and your baby should be just fine. Let us know how things turn out! Dr T

   

• At Fri Aug 22, 02:06:00 PM 2008,  Anonymous said…

  First Question: Would holding a baby up high before cutting the mother prevent a mixture of bloods? and, if a couple did so...how high and for how long...would an hour or two be good enough? If the blood is allowed to thicken wouldn't that help?
  Second question: Which blood type has the D gene? I was just wondering if the D gene is part of the problem with HIV. I am not convinced that HIV is a virus. If a person received protoglandin (not necessarily made from a human) and the D gene is possibly not human could their combined presence with synthetic hormones cause a shut down in the body of endorphins and by products like methyl suffocate the cells. Protoglandin was to make receptors unresponsive in the forming of a baby but what if RNA's and ana's cannot distinguish baby from their own replicas. Does the use of protoglandin shut down all receptors? Can the D gene kill a newborn? How many adults with HIV have or have not the D gene and the synthetics from the Pill and protoglandin? I am not explaining my mishmush am I. I as just wondering if the D gene could be re-educated. Is O negative the problem?

   

• At Fri Aug 22, 02:50:00 PM 2008,  Anonymous said…

  I was involved with the making of the Rhogam shot. It was a team and I was present. I know how it was made. However, prior to this, I was researching HIV although it was not called HIV in 1966. I had met a police officer in 1966 in Montreal, Quebec. I knew he would die, I knew his whole family would die. He may or may not have been at a New York fair where scientist were explaining about serums. Vials were turned when bees attacked. And police officers were attacked by the bees eating from a serum which may have belonged to Einstein who may have had adopted me as a godchild. I thought he left me his papers because I questioned him about the serum. I was only about 4-6 years old. He had double vision and was dyslexic. And I said, "You are using the wrong bottle or vial." He may have been diabetic as he was hospitalized. From Montreal, we went looking for similair cases 1967-1972 in New York and a researcher had placed in a file that he thought he was dying from complications of dropping a research ?serum? on a scratch (he may not have said bee sting). A third case was a child with the same symptoms that was murdered and gossip had it that because they thought the white child was black a large group of college students hacked off her head and used it as a soccor ball and they all came down within time of something. Another case involved a researcher for the RH negative mother and he lied about his research. He may or may not have been present for the Rhogam serum. When a man and woman marry the c-gene (creator gene that makes the sperm & egg one male one female) designs the offspring. The sex is determined etc, sent over and another C-gene inspects it and makes changes as to colour etc and approves of the final product. That was the basis of Rhogam. I have concerns about the first serum that was lied about. I am not a scientist. I was just someone at the time that had money for research. I am a moron. I have concerns about the Rhesus monkey serum that "backfired". I don't remember. There are varibles. My concern is that HIV may not be a virus but a war between dna complicated by proglandin progesterone and shutting down the bodies abilities to procreate but rna, ana, cells need to procreate. The body mite not shut down just the baby making machine. The one fact that stood out with the HIV investigation between 1967-1975, is that most of the HIV patients were negative. There should have been a deeper investigation into why negative. It was not RH positive and most blacks have RH positive. It did not start in Africa. Was Einstein negative? He told me not to tell people my blood type. I was surprised when all four of my children were o negative. I said to my husband, "we can't both be RH positive." His grandmother was Aztec from Quatamala. Don't mind me...I am just thinking which negative? I had a brain accident between 1967-1970 and it's like I am back in 1967. I just wanted to share. Thanks. P.S. The woman that lost her baby probably lost it at four to five weeks with a fever. She should have antibiotics with her next pregnancy for about a month.

   

• At Wed Sep 10, 04:55:00 PM 2008,  Anonymous said…

  Both of my parents are O POS. Why am I O-RH-NEG

   

• At Tue Sep 23, 12:51:00 PM 2008,  Kenneth F. Trofatter, Jr., MD, PhD said…

  To anonymous Sept 10: Both of your parents must be heterozygous for the Rh-D antigen - that means they each only have one dose of the D gene. When they make babies, they can end up with children who have two doses of D (Rh-positive), one dose of D (and therefore are Rh-positive also, just like they are - it oly takes one Rh-D gene to make you Rh-positive), or no Rh-D genes and are therefore Rh-negative just like you! Don't worry, they are probably BOTH your parents! Dr. T

   

• At Fri Nov 14, 08:25:00 PM 2008,  Gary Masters said…

  I have been donating plasma and had seen a poster saying they would give more money for Rh negative donars so I asked about it and it turns out that I was. I was glad of course being in college and more money is great, but I had no clue where the origins and what Rh negative truely does. In my short readings, only found out it helps with women whom are pregnant. Would you be kind to enlighten me?
  ~masters

   

• At Fri Nov 28, 10:11:00 AM 2008,  Kenneth F. Trofatter, Jr., MD, PhD said…

  To Gary: Rh-negative blood is more rare than Rh-positive blood and it can be used in major blood group matched Rh-positive OR Rh-negative recipients - which makes it useful emergency situations when blood types may not be able to be completely sorted out. Dr T

   

• At Sat Nov 29, 07:35:00 PM 2008,  Ragdoll said…

  18 yrs ago I had my only daughter and found out I was Rh-. Since nature has a since of humor...Today I am 43 and found out I'm due with #2! I don't remember receiving a shot for it. Only that they said, IF I were to have additional children then the RH- becomes a problem. Is time a factor, meaning... does 18 years make the Rh- less of a threat. Im 5weeks along, how soon do I need to see a doctor about this, the nearest OB is 3 hours away.
  Thank you so much, A.King

   

• At Wed Dec 03, 08:06:00 PM 2008,  Anonymous said…

  I'm an rh negative daughter to an rh positive mother. I'm now 5 weeks 4 days pregnant to a child from an rh positive dad.
  Is it possible that i've already formed rh antibodies as a result of my mother's blood passing into me when i was fetus??

   

• At Thu Dec 11, 08:43:00 AM 2008,  Anonymous said…

  I am AB- and my husband is A+. Our son was born A+ and I had the shot at 28 weeks and within 72 hours of his birth. HOwever, my doctor forgot to give me my shot at 28 weeks in my second pregnancy and now I am extremely concerned. I had the shot yerterday at 36 weeks and I am waiting on blood tests results to see if I was producing any antibodies. What may happen to my baby?!?!?!

   

• At Fri Dec 19, 12:44:00 PM 2008,  Never.Simply.Put said…

  Similar to the poster above I have just been told (3 weeks ago) that I have the anti-jkb antigen. My doctors office is not very helpful because they haven't seen this. I did have my titre's drawn immediately and am having it done again in a week (have to do this every two weeks). My husband was also tested and he came back as not having it. So where does this come from? I have had two normal deliveries with no problems what so ever and a miscarriage between them. I am RH+ and my husband is O-. I guess I just assumed he had it and that is where it came from. He is the father and I have never had a transfusion. My concern is not only on my baby but how will this affect me in the future? If it will.

   

• At Sun Jan 04, 12:01:00 PM 2009,  Jo said…

  I am Rh negative and delivered a RH positive baby in the UK in 1987. I was told that I would need three blood tests after delivery; one immediately following the birth, one before I left the hospital and one after 6 months. I did not object because I was told that these were essential to assure a healthy future pregnancy, and were not in any way related to MY health (I have issues with medical care). The baby was tested in the delivery room and once he was established as being Rh positive, I was given the anti-D shot. Because I became extremely distressed at the "care" I received after the birth, the midwives and doctors told me I could skip the 6 month blood test because it was just an extra precaution and in most likelyhood I would be fine. I subsequently had three more healthy children, and was informed that not only were all those blood tests completely unnecessary, they do not even give any relevant info, and the only thing that needs to be tested is the BABY's blood (or placenta). I am furious and disgusted that I was coerced into submitting to tests I would have otherwise refused, and plan to complain to the hospital (I have recently found out that it is not too late). Your comments would be most welcome.

   

• At Wed Mar 11, 07:50:00 PM 2009,  Bulbul said…

  I was found out to be Rh -ve in my first pregnancy. My blood type being O -ve. My husband's and kid’s blood type is B +ve. My first pregnancy and delivery was without any complications. I took one RhoGAM in the middle of my pregnancy and one after delivering our sweet angel. My OB/GYN notified us that there was no blood mix while delivering. Things look good so far. Now I and my husband are planning for 2nd kid after four years. We had no pregnancies in between. But I am very confused and scared whether to go for it or not as I read the risks involved in having the 2nd kid if you are Rh -ve. What I want to know is
  1. Are there any risks for 2nd baby if you are NOT Rh sensitized? What I mean is it as safe as having 1st baby?
  2. Can you become Rh sensitized over the years even when your doctor confirms that you are not, immediately after the first baby was born? Considering u had no surgeries or blood transfusion or any kind of disease which can lead to Rh sensitization.
  3. Is it advisable to go for blood or anti bodies screening before u conceive 2nd or subsequent kids?
  4. Is it possible to get Rh sensitized in the middle of pregnancy (with 2nd kid), supposing you were not Rh sensitized when the baby was conceived? If yes how much is the possibility and how risky is it for the baby?
  5. Otherwise also, is being Rh sensitized a disease in itself for mom even if you are not planning for a baby? What are the risks?
  
  I request pls response to my queries as soon as possible.
  
  Thanks

   

• At Sat May 30, 08:28:00 PM 2009,  Amy & Damon said…

  I am a 27 year old and I developed antibodies in my first pregnancy. Event though i had the anti D injection.
  She had to be induced but was full term. She had phototherapy for 5 days before being discharged. Now shes a very brainy 7 year old.
  
  My second child was monitored using the Doppler flow every 2 weeks. Then had his first fetal transfusion at 23 weeks and had to have one every 3 weeks. He was induced at 36 weeks weighing 3.35kg so in total he had 4 fetal transfusions. After he was born he had phototherapy for 5 days. Then needed another transfusion, at 2 weeks of age. Now he is 2 years old very healthy, normal and happy boy.
  
  I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks nothing to do with being RH neg. Just wasn't meant to be.
  
  I now have a 19 week old baby boy. I was on IVIG from 13weeks and regular dopplers once a week, when he was getting symptomatic twice a week. My antibody levels started at D 1:2013 C 1:203 S 1:15.
  He required 4 inutero transfusions starting at 19 weeks and i had steroid injections starting at 24 weeks. Then due to the last transfusion at 31 weeks labour started and he was born naturally weighing 1.790kg breathing on his own.
  He spent 8 weeks in special care nursery and has apnea episodes when his HB level is low. He needed 4 transfusions since he was born, his last being on April the 1st. Now he is making his own blood and weighs 4.080kg. He smiles all the time! he's a very happy baby boy and just needs time to catch up to others his age, just like any other prem baby.
  
  I hope this information helps others in the same situation you just have to have a positive outlook.
  We choose not to have any more children as every child we have needs to start transfusions earlier. I found out that i now have platelet antibodies too!! I think Ive used up all my luck!
  
  Thank you for your help with my pregnancy's Kenneth F. Trofatter and i wish you all the very best.

   

• At Sat May 30, 08:29:00 PM 2009,  Amy & Damon said…

  I am a 27 year old and I developed antibodies in my first pregnancy. Event though i had the anti D injection.
  She had to be induced but was full term. She had phototherapy for 5 days before being discharged. Now shes a very brainy 7 year old.
  
  My second child was monitored using the Doppler flow every 2 weeks. Then had his first fetal transfusion at 23 weeks and had to have one every 3 weeks. He was induced at 36 weeks weighing 3.35kg so in total he had 4 fetal transfusions. After he was born he had phototherapy for 5 days. Then needed another transfusion, at 2 weeks of age. Now he is 2 years old very healthy, normal and happy boy.
  
  I had a miscarriage at 10 weeks nothing to do with being RH neg. Just wasn't meant to be.
  
  I now have a 19 week old baby boy. I was on IVIG from 13weeks and regular dopplers once a week, when he was getting symptomatic twice a week. My antibody levels started at D 1:2013 C 1:203 S 1:15.
  He required 4 inutero transfusions starting at 19 weeks and i had steroid injections starting at 24 weeks. Then due to the last transfusion at 31 weeks labour started and he was born naturally weighing 1.790kg breathing on his own.
  He spent 8 weeks in special care nursery and has apnea episodes when his HB level is low. He needed 4 transfusions since he was born, his last being on April the 1st. Now he is making his own blood and weighs 4.080kg. He smiles all the time! he's a very happy baby boy and just needs time to catch up to others his age, just like any other prem baby.
  
  I hope this information helps others in the same situation you just have to have a positive outlook.
  We choose not to have any more children as every child we have needs to start transfusions earlier. I found out that i now have platelet antibodies too!! I think Ive used up all my luck!
  
  Thank you for your help with my pregnancy's Kenneth F. Trofatter and i wish you all the very best.

   

• At Tue Oct 06, 08:54:00 PM 2009,  Anonymous said…

  My husband and I are both O+. I have NEVER had ANY issues with any of my 4 completely healthy pregnancies and deliveries. 4 weeks ago I went in for my first prenatal checkup for my 5th pregnancy (which turned out to be a blighted ovum) and learned in my initial blood work that NOW out of NO WHERE I have this anti-jka "thing". How the heck does this happen NOW?? And what does this mean? Would it be irresponsible to willfully concieve knowing there's this antibody issue and full well KNOW more than likely iut will be required and huge fetal risk??

   

• At Thu Oct 08, 05:22:00 PM 2009,  Kenneth F. Trofatter, Jr., MD, PhD said…

  To anonymous Oct 6: Your husband must be positive for the jka antigen and you are not. One of your babies inherited that from its father and you responded to it by making antibodies when you were exposed to the baby's blood. You were at greater risk for that because you and your husband both have an O blood type. What is you antibody titer now. Chances are you will not be at great risk for needing an intrauterine transfusion. Furthermore, the baby can be screened for significant anemia noninvasively, and very reliably, using Doppler flow technology. Best wishes (and relax).
  Dr T

   

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