Rh blood group system

The Rh blood group system (including the Rh factor) is one of thirty-five current human blood group systems. It is the second most important blood group system, after ABO. At present, the Rh blood group system consists of 50 defined blood-group antigens, among which the five antigens D, C, c, E, and e are the most important. The commonly used terms Rh factor, Rh positive and Rh negative refer to the D antigen only. Besides its role in blood transfusion, the Rh blood group system—specifically, the D antigen—is used to determine the risk of hemolytic disease of the newborn (or erythroblastosis fetalis) as prevention is the best approach to the management of this condition. As part of prenatal care, a blood test may be used to find out the blood type of a fetus. If the Rh antigen is lacking, the blood is called Rh-negative. If the antigen is present, it is called Rh-positive. When the mother is Rh-negative and the father is Rh-positive, the fetus can inherit the Rh factor from the father. This makes the fetus Rh-positive too. Problems can arise when the fetus’s blood has the Rh factor and the mother’s blood does not.