Patient's question:
My son had just been born for a short while when he went to the hospital for a check-up. During the visit, a blood test was conducted, and eventually, the doctor told me that the baby might have hemolysis. I would like to know what are the possible causes of hemolysis?Doctor's answer:
Hemolytic disease is a hereditary genetic disorder primarily caused by blood type incompatibility between mother and fetus, leading to an allogeneic immune response. The dominant antigen inherited by the fetus from its parents is one that the mother lacks. This antigen invades the mother's body, producing immune antibodies that pass through the placental villi into the fetal blood circulation, clumping with fetal red blood cells and causing their destruction, resulting in hemolysis. This can lead to anemia, edema, hepatosplenomegaly, and progressive severe jaundice shortly after birth, potentially even causing bilirubin encephalopathy.When the blood type antigen inherited by the fetus from the father differs from that of the mother, it enters the mother's body and stimulates her to produce corresponding antibodies. These antibodies can cross the placenta into the fetal body, triggering an antigen-antibody reaction with fetal red blood cells, leading to hemolysis.