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Show STATE LAUNCHES PROGRAM OF BLOOD TYPING What is probably the first statewide state-wide program in the country to offer of-fer routine testing for the recognition recog-nition of the"Rh-factor in the blood of expectant mothers was lunched recently by the Utah Dept. of Health, according to E. H. Bram-hall, Bram-hall, Director of the Division of Laboratories and Dr. Frederic M. Kriete, director ofthe Division of Maternal and Child Health, Utah State Dept. of Health. "The service will be performed in connection with the Wasser-mann Wasser-mann examination of blood for all expectant mothers in the state," Mr. Bramhall said, "and will include in-clude typing for the Rh-factor and tests to detect probable sensitization sensitiza-tion of the mother when indicated and desired by the attending physician." phys-ician." "The Rh-factor was first identified iden-tified in 1940, in the blood of Rhesus Rhe-sus monkeys, from which the name is derived. It was soon apparent ap-parent that this factor was the cause of some complications of blood transfusions and of certain types of anemia in the newborn infant," Dr. Kriete explained. "About 85 percent of the population popu-lation carries the Rh-factor in its blood," the doctor said. Such people peo-ple are said to be Rh-positive. When blood from an Rh-positive person is given to an Rh-negative person, the tissues of the latter individual attempt to protect themselves them-selves against this foreign substance sub-stance by producing antibodies $ which destroy it in much the same , manner as a vaccinated person-I person-I throws off smallpox. Unfortunate- j ly this reaction results in the de- ; struction of the donated blood cells which carry the Rh-factor, so that the transfusion not only fails to ! benefit the patient, but may result in severe reaction. Since a certain amount of time is required to pro-; pro-; duce these antibodies, the first j transfusion causes no difficulty as a rule, but antibodies are ready : and waiting for successive trans- fusions. Should an Rh-positive man marry mar-ry an Rh-negative woman there is : a strong probability that the chil-j chil-j dren will be Rh-positive. During ; pregnancy, there is a possibility i that some of the infant's, red blood ' cells, carrying the Rh-factor, may enter the mother's circulation and stimulate the production of antibodies anti-bodies by the mother's tissues, j These in turn leak back into the infant's blood stream and may cause the destruction of the infant's in-fant's red blood cells, thus producing produc-ing a severe anemia, which is not apparent until the baby is bom. Such infants must be transfused with blood which does not carry the Rh-factor, and hence cannot be destroyed. The purpose of the program is to enable the physician to predict which expectant mothers are likely like-ly to produce infants with this anemia, so that suitable blood donors do-nors may be ready in case transfusions trans-fusions of Rh-negative blood are needed. It will also prevent the transfusion of Rh-positive blood into an Rh-negative mother. Fortunately, For-tunately, only about 3 or 4 percent of the children resulting from the marriage of an Rh-positive man and an Rh-negative woman show these symptoms of anemia. The reason for this phenomenon are as yet only partially understood." According to Mr. Bramhall the planning of this program was completed com-pleted over six months ago but announcement was delayed until a properly trained immunologist could be obtained. The program will be carried out by Clifford I. Argall, recelntly firom Stanford University. Mr. Argall first began be-gan working with Rh typing in 1942 while he was serving as sero-loglst sero-loglst in Borden General Hospital in Oklahoma. "We feel very fortunate that we Jiave been able to secure such a , son to head up this program," Mr. I highly trained and interested per-Bramhall per-Bramhall stated. |