The interest in studying Rhesus disease stems from an aspiration to understand blood and its’ components at a cellular level. In order to recognize what factors lead to this disease and what components of the cell can be used as indicators/markers to diagnose it, one must have a general idea of the concepts involved in cellular processes. This paper will focus on the causes of hemolytic disease, including natural and/or surgical & medicinal occurrences that cause isoimmunization; how antigens and antibodies are involved, and the effectiveness of Rh immunoglobulin will also be considered.
The nature of Rhesus disease or Rh isoimmunization stems from the Rh factor, which is a protein that may be found on the surface of red blood cells. Carrying this protein means that a person is Rh⁺ whereas a person not carrying the protein is Rh⁻. The Rh status is determined by the mother and the father; if one parent is Rh⁺ and the other is Rh⁻, the baby has at least a 50% chance that it will be Rh⁺.
Due to the fact that people are genetically predetermined to either have the Rh factor or not, sometimes there is an occurrence where a woman who is Rh⁻ is pregnant with a child who is Rh⁺. Problems can then arise if the blood from the baby enters the mother’s bloodstream; the Rh⁺ blood from the baby causes the mother’s body to create antibodies against it. These antibodies will then attack any Rh⁺ blood cells. This causes no harm to the mother but can create complications with the baby if the antibodies pass to it and destroy some of its blood cells. This is what is referred to as isoimmunization; it only occurs if the baby’s Rh⁺ blood enters the bloodstream unless a woman becomes sensitized to Rh blood when she received an incompatible ...
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...y conquerable disease.
Works Cited
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Abortion, like any other medical procedure, carries some risks. When one considers, however, that “the risk of death associated with childbirth is about 10 times as high as that associated with abortion” (“Know the Facts”), the threat of abortion suddenly does not seem as perilous. Additionally, contrary to popular misconception, abortion does not contribute to future infertility or development of breast cancer. It is therefore safer and more prudent to have an abortion than an unwanted pregnancy.
In most hospital delivery rooms, the doctors will routinely clamp and sever the umbilical cord with in fifteen to thirty seconds of the mother giving birth. When clamping the cord, the doctors will clamp the cord in two places, one close to the infant and then again in the middle of the cord another clamp. By delaying the clamping, fetal blood in the placental transfusion can provide the infant with an additional thirty percent more blood volume and up to sixty percent more blood cells (McDonald, S., & Middleton, P., 2009). This reduces the risk of the hemorrhaging that could occur after birth. But with new ongoing studies, it is said that by delaying the clamping of the cor...
McCrae, R.K. (December 4, 2010). “Thrombocytopenia in Pregnancy.” ASH Education Program Book: doi: 10.1182/asheducation-2010.1.397 vol. 2010 no. 1 397-402
• Hemolytic disease of the newborn. Hemolytic disease happens when a mother 's disease fighting system (immune system) attacks her baby 's red blood cells. Proteins (antibodies) in the mother’s blood destroy the baby 's red blood cells. Two conditions can cause hemolytic disease:
Reagan, William J., Armando R. Irizarry Rovira, and Dennis B. DeNicola. "Red Blood Cell Inclusions and Parasites." Veterinary Hematology: Atlas of Common Domestic and Non-Domestic Species. 2nd ed. Ames, IA: Blackwell, 2008. 30. Print.
“Immune Response: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. .
Information on abortion was available to women primarily through home medical manuals and journals. Abortion information was usually available in two sections of home medical books: how to ?release obstructed menses? and ?dangers? to avoid during pregnancy. The latter section was a sort of how-to in reverse that could be effectively put to use by the reader. The most widely consulted work, Buchan's Domestic Medicine, advised emetics and a mixture of prepared steel, powdered myrrh, and aloe to ?restore menstrual flow.? Under caus...
"Immunization in Children." Medindia . Medindia Health Network, 20 Sep 2010. Web. 20 Sep 2010.
hysterical outbreaks, feelings of immense guilt, and fear of punishment from God.7 In fact, aborted women visit doctors for psychosocial reasons 180% more than other women.8 Abortion may seem like a quick fix at the time, but there can be many and harsh
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If an individual were to receive the wrong blood type, a chain reaction of destruction ensues where red blood cells of the host attack the donor blood cells as a mechanism of defense that causes them to lyse in the blood vessels.
In conclusion, we can say Thalassemia is a hereditary disease, not a virally transmitted infection. Family history has lot to do with gene mutations. Everyone is all born with 4 genes, two from each parent. The type of genes inherited determines the severity of the disease. Likewise, the treatments depend on the strength of the diseases. Although not easily curable, the disease is treatable. More research is being done for cures and scientists are advancing in discovering safe options to limit Thalassemia during pregnancy. Some parts of the world are more prone to these diseases. Overall, Thalassemia is a disease caused by abnormalities in hemoglobin, but it is simply another challenge science will learn to overcome.
Omer, S. B., Salmon, D.A., Orenstein, W. A., deHart, M. P., & Halsey, N. (2009). Vaccine
"Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States." Guttmacher Institute: Home Page. Guttmacher Institute, 15 July 2002. Web. The Web.
The procedure causes health complications for the mother, inflicts pain on a living fetus, and kills the unborn baby. Late-term abortion induces innumerable physical health complications to the patient, including severe infections, extreme bleeding, and damage to the uterus. In addition, one analysis, in relation to abortion problems, states, “from 1988 to 1997 found the risk of death increased by 38% for each additional week of gestation, during the pregnancy.” (Jones).