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Prevention of Rhesus factor disease

Rhesus-negative women can be prevented from developing antibodies by being given an injection of ‘anti-D gamma globulin’ within 60 hours of the birth of a rhesus-positive baby. In order to protect future babies, this is done in all such cases. Once a woman is sensitised to the D-rhesus antigen, anti-D globulin can have no effect.

The injection is also given after a termination of pregnancy, or if there is any other reason to believe that a rhesus-negative mother’s blood may have come into contact with a rhesus-positive baby.

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