A legend died today.
In his memory, how about a heartwarming heme #skeetorial? #hemesky #nerdalert
Today the world lost the man with the "golden arm"
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In his memory, how about a heartwarming heme #skeetorial? #hemesky #nerdalert
Today the world lost the man with the "golden arm"
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Comments
He donated blood almost weekly for 60 years, and in that time helped save the lives of >2.4 million Australian babies!
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It all goes back to alloimmunization, a problem in pregnancy whereby mothers develop antibodies against certain antigens on their child's red blood cell.
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(although technically the Rh system consists of 48 antigens, with the most common being D, C, c, E, and e) 4/n
By 38 days gestation, the D antigen is present on RBCs. Unlike most other antigens, it is only present on RBCs.
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This can occur through transplacental fetomaternal bleeding (virtually all), injection with contaminated needles, inadvertent transfusion or D-mismatched stem cell transplant.
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These RBCs are then phagocytized by macrophages in the fetal spleen.
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What will happen now without him? Do we have others with his traits willing to donate or newer medical treatments?