Anti K! (The KELL Gene)
So my partner has a cell in his blood call "KELL". At my first midwife appointment they did my bloods and results came back that my body was producing "anti k" which fights against the KELL gene. It's really rare and I'm hoping someone on here has been through or is going through the same thing.
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@Chloe thanks, the doctor told me only 9% of the population have it, so naturally as someone with no knowledge I have my worries. I know that as long as the doctor keeps an eye everything should be okay, and is only really a danger to baby if not noticed and if anaemia is noticed early. It's also a worry because of the fact we can't get treatment in Northern Ireland if we need a blood transfusion whilst baby isn't born. I know the information on how it happens ect.. I was just wondering if anyone else had their story and knew how it felt to go through it as a parent so I know what to expect with treatments/scans/ frequency of appointments etc.
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Hi, I’m a biomedical scientist for the Belfast trust and I used to work in blood bank so dealt with these antibodies regularly. The Kell antigen is not that rare at all. Your partner has the kell antigen on his red cells that define his blood group just like A, B or O so he is kell positive. You don’t have the antigen on your red cells and are therefore kell negative. As such your body will naturally produce antibodies giving you anti-k. This is not an issue unless your baby inherits the kell antigen from their father. In this case your immune system can react to your babies blood cells and damage them. To counter this the doctors will give you immunosuppressants to decrease your immune system and lessen the chance of it affecting the baby.