PTI New Delhi, June 18 A woman who previously suffered seven failed pregnancies has recently delivered a healthy child with the help of doctors at AIIMS-Delhi after they successfully treated her foetus suffering from a rare blood disorder through the transfusion of O D phenotype red cell units brought all the way from Japan. This medical achievement marks the first procedure of its kind in India and only the eighth case reported globally, according to the doctors of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The patient, hailing from Haryana, had previously endured seven unsuccessful pregnancies.
In her eighth pregnancy, after receiving six foetal blood transfusions, she gave birth to a healthy baby, the hospital said in a statement. Both mother and newborn have since been discharged in good health, the doctors said. The incompatibility between the red blood cells of the mother and the baby can lead to severe complications for the unborn child such as anaemia, jaundice, heart failure, and even fetal death, explained Dr Neena Malhotra, head of obstetrics and gynaecology department at AIIMS, Delhi.
The most common known incompatibility is due to the RhD antigen and in severe cases of fetal anaemia, RhD blood is transfused to the foetus inside the mother’s womb through the umbilical cord, the doctor said. “However, in this case, the mother was negative for the Rh 17 antigen which is very rare to find. Due to this, the foetuses in her womb would suffer from incompatibil.
