Doctors at the AIIMS Delhi have performed India’s first successful fetal blood transfusion to save a baby with a rare disorder. The baby’s mother had seven unsuccessful pregnancies. The mother was admitted to the AIIMS during her seventh pregnancy. However, the child had already died in her womb. The blood bank team at the hospital identified that the mother was negative for the Rh 17 antigen, which can cause anemia in the fetus.
When the mother visited the AIIMS during her eighth pregnancy, the fifth month of pregnancy, the fetus had already developed anemia. Due to the unavailability of blood in India, doctors from the Obstetrics and Gynecology department immediately contacted the Japanese Red Cross for blood. The required blood was imported from Japan with the help of the Social Service Department of the AIIMS and several NGOs. Intrauterine blood transfusion was performed…
