Reduced severity of Rh-haemolytic disease after anti-D immunoglobulin.

A total of 2459 Rh-negative women who received anti-D immunoglobulin after a Rh-positive pregnancy were followed up in at least one subsequent pregnancy. There was a failure of protection rate of 1-6%. Follow-up of 53 subsequent infants of mother in whom protection had failed showed that the infants were less severely affected than would have been expected. This was confirmed by a comparative statistical analysis of the present series and a series of first affected cases before anti-D immunoglobulin was available, using the antibody titre during pregnancy and the haemoglobin levels at delivery.