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What Are Anti-Kell Antibodies?

Pregnancy is often a happy occasion for couples, especially if they have been trying to conceive a child for a long time. During a normal pregnancy, the mother's body nourishes the baby as it develops; at the culmination of the healthy development of the fetus, the baby is born. However, a blood type mismatch between mother and fetus could cause her antibodies to attack her child's blood.

  1. Antibodies

    • Antibodies are the front line of your body's immune system. They identify foreign substances -- such as bacteria that cause illness -- based on complex chemical markers around the cells, and destroy the foreign substance by "eating" it. While the antibodies of the immune system are only supposed to attack substances that are harmful to the body, they can at times simply attack anything that they do not recognize as belonging to your body.

    Kell Blood Group

    • During a pregnancy, a mother can have a different blood type than her child. In this case the presence of the child's blood groups, such as the Kell blood group, can be identified as foreign and harmful. The Kell blood group contains some of the most complex antigens, or chemical markings, of any of the blood groups; these antigens sometimes trigger a response from the mother's immune system. Behind the ABO and Rh blood groups, the Kell blood group is the third most likely group to provoke a response from the mother's immune system.

    Erythroblastosis

    • When the mother's immune system identifies the blood group as foreign, it can begin producing anti-Kell antibodies to attack the "foreign" substance; unfortunately, this leads to antibodies which attack the infant's red blood cells. Depending on the severity of the mother's immunological reaction, the result can vary from anemia in the baby to more serious complications such as an enlarged spleen or liver, edema, hydrops throughout the fetus's body or the baby dying shortly after birth.

    Testing

    • The best chance of avoiding the worst possibilities of anti-Kell antibodies, and others like it, is through early detection and treatment. Doctors can look for these problems by checking a mother's blood. If her body is producing anti-Kell antibodies they will show up in her blood work; if these antibodies are discovered, doctors will monitor their levels by testing the mother's blood regularly throughout the pregnancy to gauge the severity of the mother's immunological reaction.

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