A Study of HL‐A Types in Rh Haemolytic Disease of the Newborn

Abstract

The HL‐A types of 288 women, immunised to the Rh(D) antigen as a result of pregnancy, have been compared to the HL‐A types of 139 women who although they have had Rh(D)‐positive children have not produced anti‐Rh(D). There is an indication that an increased incidence of the HL‐A3 antigen is associated with the immunised mothers. A study of the HL‐A types of husbands and children of both immunised and non‐immunised women did not suggest that their HL‐A types played a significant role in anti‐Rh(D) production. The frequencies of the HL‐A antigens in each category studied have been tabulated for record purposes, as well as the frequencies in a random panel of persons living in the Newcastle environs. Full ABO, Rh and HL‐A details of 50 immunised mothers and their families and of 58 non‐immunised mothers and their families are available.