Frequency and specificity of red blood cells alloantibodies among Sudanese multiparous women

Abstract

: Background: Allo-immunization is a condition in which the body gains immunity, from another individual of the same species, against its cells. Blood group antibodies are called alloantibodies if they react with alloantigens on the red blood cells (RBCs) of other individuals. Immune antibodies are produced following exposure to foreign erythrocyte antigens through pregnancy or transfusion. Maternal alloimmunization, also known as iso-immunization, occurs when a woman's immune system is sensitized to foreign erythrocyte surface antigens, stimulating the production of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. Purpose: This study aimed to detect the frequency and specificity of alloantibodies against (RBCs) antigens among Sudanese multiparous women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on randomly selected 130 pregnant ladies, most of them were attending Soba teaching hospital and the remaining to Khartoum teaching hospital during the period from February-2008 to May-2008. Serum from each lady was collected. Each sample was grouped and screened for alloantibodies, then samples with positive antibody screening were tested for antibody identification using the gel agglutination method. Results: The overall frequency of alloantibodies detected among studied pregnant ladies was 10.8%. The results also revealed that an insignificant correlation was found between age, ethnic group, and presence of alloantibodies (( P-value : > 0.05); While a significant correlation was observed between the history of abortion, and the number of pregnancies and presence of alloantibodies ( P-value : < 0.05). Conclusion: In summary, we concluded that the alloantibodies were detected in one-tenth of the studied subjects with a significant association between detected antibodies and the number of pregnancies .