The Significance of Blood Group Conflicts and Aberrant Salivary Secretion in Spontaneous Abortion

Abstract

By means of comparing the findings in aborter and nonaborter couples, we have demonstrated a great contrast in the compatibilities of the ABO blood groups and the capacity of persons to secrete A, B, and H substances in their saliva. The aborter couples almost invariably (1) consisted of a group A or B father mated with a group O mother who had immune anti-A or -B antibodies in her serum, or (2) manifested great irregularity in the salivary secretion of A, B, and H factors (i.e., aberrant secretion), or (3) were characterized by both features (that is, 1 and 2 in combination). Study of the control group of nonaborters did not reveal such conflicts. A tentative modification of genotypes is suggested as a genetic basic for explaining the new findings. A large-scale, similar analysis of married couples is required if reliable predictions of the outcome of pregnancy are to become a reality.