Dildy G A, Jackson G M, Ward K
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, USA.
Obstet Gynecol. 1996 Aug;88(2):207-10. doi: 10.1016/0029-7844(96)00143-3.
To determine the accuracy of DNA analysis for fetal RhD status using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on uncultured amniocytes.
Three hundred forty-seven amniotic fluid (AF) samples obtained for a variety of clinical indications were tested for fetal RhD status using PCR and primers specific for the genes coding for D and Cc/Ee. Fetal RhD status was confirmed by serologic methods on neonatal cord blood obtained at the time of delivery.
In 346 of 347 cases (99.7%), the PCR results of AF were in agreement with the serologic RhD blood type. The single error was in an RhD-negative fetus (misidentified as RhD-positive) whose AF was contaminated with blood from an RhD-positive mother. The likelihood of an erroneous result was 0.3%.
Polymerase chain reaction-based analysis of fetal RhD status using uncultured amniocytes and established primers appears to be highly accurate.
