The story of our Rh disease begins with blood. Everyone on earth can be divided into one of four major blood groups, but there's another category that differentiates us. Rh. Most people have a protein on the red blood cells called the rhesus factor these people are Rh positive, but a small percentage of the global population is missing this protein making them Rh negative.
These two blood groups are incompatible, that means that if they mix, deadly reactions can occur. That's why it's dangerous when an Rh negative woman becomes pregnant with an Rh positive baby. If the baby's red blood cells get into the mother's blood stream, our immune system will consider them foreign invaders and create antibodies to destroy them. These antibodies can also cross the placenta and attack the fetus with terrible consequences like permanent brain damage and even death.
This immune reaction begins during a mother's first pregnancy, but is only completed after the baby is born. That's why first babies are typically spared from Rh disease, they're already born by the time the mother's immune system has time to react. But an immune system never forgets leaving all future Rh positive babies at risk of getting Rh disease.
Rh disease was once a major killer but in the 1960s scientists discovered a cure by essentially hacking the immune system with the help of human donors.They obtained the same antibodies that were hurting babies and turn them into a life-saving injection that helps prevent the disease. This injection is given to women before and after delivery, providing an antibody dose that is too small to hurt the baby but potent enough to prevent the mother's immune system from reacting.
It's as though these antibodies help mask the fetuses red blood cells, making them invisible to the mothers immune system. Today Rh disease is virtually eradicated in wealthy nations like Canada where the injection has become routine for at-risk pregnancies.This cure only works if women can access an injection through an adequate health care system in much of the world this is still out of reach for many women making the death and devastation of Rh disease a modern reality.
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