A new method of treatment for intrauterine fetal hemolytic anemia caused by blood type incompatibility.

A method to eliminate the anti-M antibody from maternal circulation was employed in a patient who had four stillbirths caused by MN type incompatibility, and who developed severe post-transfusion hepatitis after plasmapheresis. In this method, the patient's plasma was incubated with OM positive packed red cells to absorb the anti-M antibody and then reinfused. The elevation of titer in maternal blood was prevented, and the ODD-450 values fluctuated in the upper-mid zone of Liley's graph. A viable immature anemic newborn was delivered after C-section in 33 weeks' gestation. As the newly developed antibody elimination therapy physiologically removed the antibody faster than it could accumulate, it contributes to prolonging the intrauterine life span of the fetus. Since the anti-D antibody is also eliminated by the same principle, this procedure seems to be a promising approach for the treatment of the fetal hemolysis due to iso-immunizations.