This guideline is an update of the 1979 Canadian Task Force recommendations on blood group incompatibility in pregnancy. This phenomenon is not dangerous to the fetus unless there is an incompatibility between the mother and her fetus with respect to the D antigen of the red blood cells. Once isoimmunization has occurred, the severity of fetal hemolysis varies.
Options Screening for D blood type is done using hemagglutination.
Recommendations were not based on cost-effectiveness of options. Patient preferences were not discussed. Background papers providing critical appraisal of the evidence and tentative recommendations prepared by the chapter author were pre-circulated to the members. Consensus was reached on final recommendations. Benefits, Harms, and Costs Clinical trials done in the 1960s showed that women who received a full dose of D Ig prophylaxis after delivery did not develop isoimmunization.