Which disease results from maternal antibodies against fetal red blood cells?

Which disease results from maternal antibodies against fetal red blood cells?

• A. rh disease
• B. ABO incompatibility
• C. alloimmune hemolytic disease
• D. kernicterus

Answer: (A)

Maternal antibodies against fetal red blood cells cause hemolysis in the fetus, most classically from anti-D antibodies in Rh incompatibility. When an Rh-negative mother becomes sensitized to Rh-positive fetal cells, her IgG antibodies cross the placenta and bind to fetal Rh(D) antigens, leading to destruction of those red cells. This fetal hemolysis can cause fetal anemia, hydrops fetalis, and after birth, hyperbilirubinemia that may progress to kernicterus if severe. ABO incompatibility can also cause alloimmune hemolysis, but the specific disease name most directly linked to maternal antibodies against fetal red blood cells is Rh disease.

Maternal antibodies against fetal red blood cells cause hemolysis in the fetus, most classically from anti-D antibodies in Rh incompatibility. When an Rh-negative mother becomes sensitized to Rh-positive fetal cells, her IgG antibodies cross the placenta and bind to fetal Rh(D) antigens, leading to destruction of those red cells. This fetal hemolysis can cause fetal anemia, hydrops fetalis, and after birth, hyperbilirubinemia that may progress to kernicterus if severe. ABO incompatibility can also cause alloimmune hemolysis, but the specific disease name most directly linked to maternal antibodies against fetal red blood cells is Rh disease.