RH blood group test: Things to keep in mind

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Tran Thi Vuong - Doctor of Microbiology - Laboratory Department - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital
The Rh blood group system is the second most important blood group after the ABO blood group system in humans. The Rh blood group has very different characteristics from the ABO blood group system, so certain precautions should be taken in blood transfusion as well as in obstetrics, especially when the test result is Rh negative
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1. Rh blood group

In addition to the ABO blood group system, blood groups are also classified according to the Rh group or rhesus factor. The human Rh blood group system includes nearly 50 types of antigens on the surface of red blood cells, of which the five important antigens are D, C, c, E, and e.
The type D antigen is considered to be the most important in the Rh blood group system because it is the most immunogenic. In Vietnam, people with Rh negative blood group account for a very low percentage, usually in the range of 0.04% - 0.07%

2. Rh blood group test

For the results of a person who has the D antigen on the surface of the red blood cells, the blood group is called Rh positive or Rh(D) positive , and vice versa if no D antigen is present On the surface of red blood cells, the result is Rh negative.
Usually, Rh positive blood group is more common than Rh negative blood group, so Rh negative blood group is considered a very rare case. Determining the results of the Rh blood group test plays an important role in blood transfusion, for example, a person with Rh negative blood group can only receive blood from people who also have Rh negative blood group like themselves. If a person has a positive Rh blood test, they can receive blood from an Rh positive or Rh negative person.

3. What's wrong with a positive Rh blood test?

Rh positive and negative blood group testing has great significance in the practice of blood transfusion, especially in obstetrics. People with Rh positive blood group should not donate their blood to people with Rh negative blood group because it can lead to extremely dangerous blood transfusion complications. It is the D-antigen mismatch that causes adverse reactions in the blood recipient. It is best in those cases that a person with Rh negative blood should only receive blood from someone who is Rh negative.
In obstetrics, if the mother has Rh negative blood but the father has Rh positive blood, there is a possibility that the fetus will have Rh positive blood group, as a result, the mother's body will produce antibodies that destroy the fetal red blood cells.
However, if this is the mother's first pregnancy, there will be less serious complications for the fetus, but if repeated in a later pregnancy, the child still has Rh positive blood group, the possibility anti-D will be passed from mother to child through the placenta, causing red blood cell agglutination or hemolysis and destruction of the baby's red blood cells, called Rh incompatibility between mother and child. .
As a result, this condition will lead to some pathologies for the baby right from birth such as neonatal jaundice, intellectual disability, or sometimes the baby is still in the womb and still has birth defects. premature miscarriage, stillbirth...
To minimize the dangerous complications of Rh incompatibility, there are still solutions to help us control this situation. In fact, there are still women with a rare blood type that is Rh negative but can still give birth safely, smoothly and can have many children.

Specifically, family members need to know how to take care of themselves and voluntarily take an Rh blood group test to find out what their blood type is, so that they can visit qualified doctors to be consulted, eliminating bad possibilities in blood transfusion and childbirth. Especially for women with Rh negative blood group, it is even more important to pay attention to this issue in blood transfusion and receipt, during pregnancy and childbirth.
Rh blood group test is a basic and necessary test that anyone, including pregnant women, non-pregnant women or men need to perform to determine their blood type. Rh positive or Rh negative. If you find out that you have a rare blood type, you should tell your doctor in case you have passed or received blood with other people. Pregnant women and their husbands also need to have Rh blood tests to limit the mother and child Rh blood group incompatibility, causing serious damage to the baby's health.

Vinmec International General Hospital is one of the hospitals that not only ensures professional quality with a team of leading doctors, modern equipment and technology, but also stands out for its examination and consulting services. and comprehensive, professional medical treatment; civilized, polite, safe and sterile medical examination and treatment space. Customers when choosing to perform tests here can be completely assured of the accuracy of test results.
Customers can directly go to Vinmec Health system nationwide to visit or contact the hotline here for support.
MORE:
Pregnant mother with Rh blood - is it dangerous? Why is it important to get tested for Rh factor during pregnancy? Blood type disagreement during pregnancy: Things to know