A study of HL-A types in Rh haemolytic disease of the newborn.

The HL-A types of 288 women, immunised to the Rh(D) antigen as a result of pregnancy, have been compared to the HL-A types of 139 women who although they have had Rh(D)-positive children have not produced anti-Rh(D). There is an indication that an increased incidence of the HL-A3 antigen is associated with the immunised mothers. A study of the HL-A types of husbands and children of both immunised and non-immunised women did not suggest that their HL-A types played a significant role in anti-Rh(D) production. The frequencies of the HL-A antigens in each category studied have been tabulated for record purposes, as well as the frequencies in a random panel of persons living in the Newcastle environs. Full ABO, Rh and HL-A details of 50 immunised mothers and their families and of 58 non-immunised mothers and their families are available.