DEAR DR. ROACH:
I am a 79-year-old female. I am in generally good health, but have a question about RhoGAM. When I had my children in the ‘60s, I was in the original study conducted to see if my AB negative blood type would hurt my children. I understand that the Rh factor can hurt unborn babies.
Was there ever a follow-up study about us? Was there anything different about our health as we grew older? — R.J.
ANSWER:
When a mother has the Rh-negative blood type and the father is Rh-positive, there is the potential of immunizing the mother against the blood of her developing baby. Anti-D immunoglobulin (RhoGAM) is given to reduce the risk of this happening.
Although I see many news reports about putative effects of blood type, there are few conditions where Rh factor (or even the ABO blood type) consistently makes a significant difference for risk of any disease.
Many studies have been done with no clear evidence that people with Rh-negative blood are at increased risk for chronic medical issues. AB negative is the rarest blood type to have, but that’s not a bad thing.
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Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to [email protected] or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.
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