What Is a Lewis Antibody?

"Lewis" is a classification system of blood typing that focuses on the Le a and Le b antigens. Other classification systems include the Kell and Duffy systems, which focus on different antigens. The Lewis antibodies identified by the system rarely have significance during pregnancy.

Lewis Antibody

• Lewis antibodies are not created by red blood cells themselves. However, they can be absorbed by red blood cells if the antibodies are concentrated in other bodily fluids. Lewis antibodies rarely cross the placenta in pregnancy and are not known to cause hemolytic disease in the fetus.

Significance

• It is usually not important to monitor Lewis antibodies during pregnancy and are not frequently significant for clinical purposes. Immunohematologists are interested in Lewis antibodies because they are not produced by red blood cells.

Other Antibodies

• There are other antibodies that are important to monitor during pregnancy. Some of these include anti-Kell antibodies, anti-Kidd antibodies, anti-c antibodies and anti-Duffy antibodies. All of these are capable of crossing the placenta and causing anemia in the fetus.