[Experience obtained from intra-uterine foetal transfusion to cope with severe rhesus-caused haemolytic disease of foetus - ten-year report (author's transl)].

Sixty-three intra-uterine transfusions were applied to 44 foetuses with foetohaemolytic disease, in Rostock, between 1967 and 1976. Patients were selected for treatment by means of stepwise prenatal diagnosis. Details of that selection are described together with the technique of intra-uterine transfusion, with reference being made also to risks and complications. The survival rate of children, following intra-uterine transfusion, accounted for 41 per cent. The survival rate of non-hydropic foetuses was 76 per cent and thus much beyond that of hydropic foetuses of whom only 19 per cent survived. While the incidence of severe foetohaemolytic disease due to blood-group incompatibility is on a declining trend, intra-uterine foetal transfusion should be maintained as a possible therapy for certain cases.