Prevalence and true impact of Rhesus D and ABO Hemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn
Hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) results from incompatibility between blood groups of mother and fetus, which triggers alloimmunization, resulting in fetal anemia, severe hyperbilirubinemia, and fetal or neonatal death. Rhesus D (RhD) negative mothers that give birth to a RhD positive child are at risk for developing immunoglobulin G (IgG) anti-RhD antibodies that target red cells of RhD positive offspring in following pregnancies. RhD-HDFN can be severe and is thought to affect mostly white European and North American mother-child pairs. However, data suggests that black mother-child pairs with African heritage in Suriname are at least equally affected, while preventive measures commonly used in Western countries to reduce the impact of RhD-HDFN, such as anti-D immunoglobulins, are virtually absent. In this project impact and determinants of RhD-HDFN in Suriname were established. This led to four publications that show that implementation of anti-D immunoglobulins should be considered in Suriname to prevent (severe) RhD-HDFN. The project was a collaboration with Sanquin and Leiden University in the Netherlands.
