The Rh factor in the etiology of erythroblastosis fetalis
Fuster, M.F.
Boletin de la Asociacion Medica de Puerto Rico 35(8): 313-315
1943
ISSN/ISBN: 0004-4849 Document Number: 700113
A type of agglutination of human red blood cells, known as the Rh factor, is present in about 86% of the white population. This factor is inherited as a dominant Mendelian characteristic. When the father is positive and the mother negative, the latter develops anti-Rh agglutinins which in turn destroy the fetal cells. The author reports the case of a mother who had had 4 normal pregnancies out of 9. The disease probably first made its appearance in the 8th pregnancy. The fetus resulting from the 9th pregnancy was autopsied, and typical erythroblastosis was diagnosed. Blood studies showed that the father was Rh-positive and the mother Rh-negative. The amount of agglutinins apparently increased with each pregnancy until the titer was high enough to kill the fetus. Both parents belonged to the same blood group, but the mother's serum agglutinated the father's blood cells at a high titer. Therefore, if she had received a transfusion of his blood the results might have been fatal.