EDITORIAL: The Rh blood group system: additional complexities

THE Rh BLOOD GROUP SYSTEM

T he Rh blood group system is one of the most polymorphic and antigenic blood group systems. It is second only to ABO in importance in blood transfusion and is well known as a primary cause of hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN). The principal antigen is D, and the terms Rh positive and Rh negative refer to the presence or absence of D antigen. Caucasians of European extraction ha...

The Rh blood group system: a review

The Rh blood group system is one of the most polymorphic and immunogenic systems known in humans. In the past decade, intense investigation has yielded considerable knowledge of the molecular background of this system. The genes encoding 2 distinct Rh proteins that carry C or c together with either E or e antigens, and the D antigen, have been cloned, and the molecular bases of many of the anti...

Complexities of the Dombrock blood group system revealed.

The Do(a) antigen was discovered after I began my career in immunohematology and I have been fortunate to be involved in several fascinating discoveries in the Dombrock blood group system. The Do(a) antigen and its antithetical antigen, Do(b), have a prevalence that makes them useful as genetic markers. The paucity of reliable anti-Do(a) and anti-Do(b) has prevented this potential from being re...

Some observations on blood factors RhA, RhB and RhC of the Rh-Hr blood group system.

Rh and LW blood group antigens

History and nomenclature The Rh system is second only to the ABO system in importance in transfusion medicine because Rh antigens, especially D, are highly immunogenic and cause hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) and hemolytic transfusion reactions (HTRs). HDFN was first described by a French midwife in 1609 in a set of twins, one of whom was hydropic and stillborn, whereas the o...