1 in 6 Million people in this world are RHnull

2 Comments

1. Gerry Matthews December 10, 2021 Reply

   James Harrison is not Rhnull (Rh deficiency syndrome). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harrison_(blood_donor)

   He is sometimes described as “the man with the golden arm”, which is not the same as the epithet sometimes used for people with Rh deficiency syndrome, “golden blood”. This rather silly phrase was coined by a haematologist as recognition of the fact that those who are Rh null can donate their blood to anyone with any Rh antibodies/missing antigens. Unfortunately as the quote from the Iranian case study states, “The clinical significance […] is that such patients with Rhnull syndrome are associated with chronic hemolytic anemia of varying degrees”, and hence don’t make good blood donors.

2. Jeanette May 15, 2022 Reply

   I’ve got six adult children and have had a few interesting events around them all, as well as seven lost babies in the womb.In 1968 l birthed my fourth child at the age of 24. I’d survived various events with pregnancies but her’s was to be my worst. I’m D-neg Group A cde/cde. I’d had the Anti-D shots as with my first three babies, as with all six eventually, and back then, had no idea what they were for, assuming all mum’s had the same. I knew l had rare blood, but not that rare it needed special shots other mums didn’t get in pregnancy. At around eight months and three weeks, l swelled up and couldn’t put my boots on, in the coldest heaviest waist high snow. When l finally did, l couldn’t get them off. I was birthing at home, but my Doctor rushed me to hospital by ambulance. I’m never sick, but we had to stop to let me out in the snow to throw up. No explanation from my doc’, England in the sixties meant women were too thick to be told by their male doctors, anything about their own bodies. Our laws gave that right to husbands. Until it was changed in 1974, men owned us wives. We were not allowed to use birth control without their permission. Nor allowed surgery to sterilise or have hysterectomy. Which is why l had five by age 24. The pill almost killed me and it failed, the coil failed, and nearly killed baby and me at the birth. And l nearly died many times. Few medics even understood the Rhesus Factor. With baby four I found my vision blurring, the wallpaper pattern moved, a lot, and l’m lifelong teetotal. And l don’t do drugs, legal or otherwise. Allergic to everything. Anyway, l was in the middle of discovering my allergies in 1968, so had no idea why l’m now about to birth in hospital, and not at home. The doctor and nurses there couldn’t care less, it was Saturday, late, everybody wanted end of day. Nurses talked down to me, like l was a kid because l looked so young. Like a first pregnancy and l was a dunce. I got hopping mad and got dressed and said l was discharging myself, going home, birthing there, l knew my rights, and my body! That panicked them into action, and they decided to start me off, very roughly, crudely, with scissors like they were chopping lettuce, problem was, they did it badly. Both my first and last of six were boys. My middle four, all girls. My two boys started their own labours, and decided on their births too, even my first who was breech, suddenly did a massive somersault and literally turned right over and engaged in seconds., And arrived minutes later. While they’d been panicking on breech birthing him. So weird. I was seventeen then. With number two they used a needle in a tube to break the placenta, and with number three, born at home with a nurse named Hazzard (l kid you not) l had to have scissors used to cut the sac, was in labour 66 hours in 1966, by God the devil’s advocate was busy chasing me that time.. before they realised (doc had arrived) there was two sacs, one empty save for amneotic fluid, and thus labour just kept going, the sac with baby in couldn’t break. So doc’ cut it. And l needed three stitches. I’d conceived twins, one had died early on, the sac kept growing, filling up with fluid, as if it’s little ghost was still alive. This happened three times in pregnancies for me, my third, my fifth, and a different pregnancy between, three separate pregnancies, one set where both twins both died at 8 weeks and 12 weeks. The two where one survived, left one empty sac each, growing full of fluid. My sixth, late child,was the last to have a dead twin. With him they heard two heartbeats, strapped two monitors on me, God they hurt, heavy in labour. His heart was echoing through the empty sac. Anyway… Back to baby four, she was soon out at 10.15pm that Saturday. And l insisted on going home where l felt safer, with my GP called Doctor Pain (l know, shush🙄) it’s good l went home, l had Toxaemia, and would have died without him in my corner. Him and God. We both would have died. Baby was dying, Dr Pain told me after, he gave up. I didn’t. It was one of the times penicillin still worked on me, today, it would kill me, really odd my life.. doc came in twice daily and injected me. But couldn’t do anything for my baby, except entrust her to my care. He had faith in my mothering techniques. I knew she was dying too. I struggled to my knees and called God. I begged Him to let her live. I spent the night holding her. Talking to her, praying for her. Just her, me and God in that room. Bargaining with God. She was so ill, and l loved her already, like a lioness, “Let her live God, please, and l’ll come out, l’ll take the flak, l’ll ignore them all, l promise Lord, l’ll be your advocate for life, only let her live, please.” And He did. She took the breast, she cried, she slept, she was in my arms till Doc came in, in the morning, my other kids tiptoeing round us, fingers to their lips, ooing and cooing over her. “You saved her life mum, l thought she would die!” “You saved mine Doctor, so that l could, save her with God’s help! Thank you!” On my six week check up l had chest pains, thought it was my heart, he said “No, it’s a form of arthritis, not sure yet which one, but you’ll be in a wheelchair at fifty!” Well Dr Pain, whom l believe is now dead, lovely though you were, you’re wrong on that, l’m not, not yet, though l’m in agony walking. And it was and is Rheumatoid Arthritis. Immune deficiency condition, added to my blood issues. That daughter almost died again, with another doctor’s care aged four months, and again, God answered prayer, and let her live. And the doctor then was once again my childhood doctor, we moved home a lot, and he wasn’t surprised at all by my weird life, in fact, he shared a premonition with me, l’ll share that another time. But if you want to know how it feels being prone to NDEs because of Rhesus-D Negative blood, l have vast experience of surviving it! Apol’s if this is messy … I’m hurting, too much to edit. I need to stretch.

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