Father Muller Hospital saves the life of a 31-week-old severely anaemic foetus with intrauterine blood transfusion in a mother with risk factors.

Mangaluru: Doctors at Father Muller Hospital Mangalore performed an intrauterine transfusion on a 31-week-old severely anaemic foetus successfully. This process involves the transfusion of blood into the foetus in the womb.

Fetal blood transfusion in Rh-negative mothers is a specialized medical procedure performed to treat severe fetal anemia caused by Rh isoimmunization. It occurs when a Rh-negative mother’s immune system produces antibodies that attack Rh-positive foetal red blood cells, leading to foetal anaemia and hydrops.

A 41-year-old lady was referred for a scan at the foetal medicine OPD. Dr. Muralidhar G.K., Consultant Radiologist and foetal medicine specialist who saw the case, found out that the foetus was anaemic and, on further investigation, found that the anti-D titre was very high. The patient was counselled to undergo an intrauterine blood transfusion. A thorough maternal workup was done by Dr Prathima Prabhu (Specialist in High risk pregnancy & Foetal medicine). A team of doctors, Dr Muralidhar G.K., Dr Prathima Prabhu, Dr Lenon D’Souza, and Dr Mandeep Sagar (interventional radiologists), performed the procedure, which lasted for about an hour. Post-transfusion, the parameters showed marked improvement with a healthy closing hematocrit. The patient was discharged after observation. The patient will be closely monitored to look for trends in the parameters to see whether the foetus may require a repeat transfusion a few weeks from now.

Intrauterine transfusion is one of the advanced fetal therapy procedures carried out by a specialized team of foetal medicine specialists, interventional radiologists, etc. Father Mullers Medical College is one of the few centres in India with the high-end infrastructure to perform such procedures. Dr Ram Shenoy Basti, Head of Department, Radiology, said that foetal therapy is an extension of foetal medicine, and these procedures are now being done here at affordable rates. He thanked the Director, Management for providing the most advanced foetal medicine unit in the city to enhance foetal care in this region.

The director, Management, and Staff congratulated the team for having performed the procedure successfully.