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Prenatal determination of the fetal RhD blood group by multiplex PCR: a 7‐year Portuguese experience
Author(s) -
Pereira Janet Carvalho,
Couceiro Ana Bela,
Cunha Elizabete Maria,
Machado Ana Isabel,
Tamagnini Gabriel Pinto,
Martins Natália Prata,
Ribeiro Maria Letícia
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/pd.1760
Subject(s) - serology , amniocentesis , concordance , medicine , population , amniotic fluid , rh blood group system , prenatal diagnosis , fetus , obstetrics , pregnancy , immunology , biology , genetics , antibody , environmental health
Objectives This is a retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy and accuracy of the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, for early detection of fetuses at risk for hemolytic disease, in the population living in Portugal, and to characterize the RhD‐negative individuals at serologic and molecular level. Methods 2030 uncultured amniotic fluid samples and 2012 blood samples from the respective RhD‐negative pregnant women were studied by multiplex PCR of intron 3/intron 4, exon 7 and 3′UTR. Amniocentesis was performed for a variety of medical indications. For quality control, serologic RhD blood groups were determined in the cord blood, after birth. Results 1361 fetal amniotic samples were RhD‐positive (67%), 669 were RhD‐negative. The average time for diagnosis was 2 days for uncultured amniocytes and the molecular versus serologic RhD typing ( n = 809) had 99.5% concordance. Among the 2012 serologic RhD‐negative mothers, 26 had an RhD‐positive allele. Conclusion The multiplex PCR amplification used in this study was a rapid and accurate method to determine the RhD blood type in the population living in Portugal, being a great tool for management of pregnancies with fetuses at risk for alloimmune hemolytic disease. In this population, 1.3% of the serologic RhD‐negative women have an RHD‐positive allele. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.