Has anyone had anti-E and/or K(Kell) Antigen positive blood results?

[Brownbottle]

Hi

I’m 9 weeks pregnant and had my 8 week booking bloods with midwife on Saturday. I’ve been getting some of the test results back which say :

Anti-E detected

Probable R1R1(C+D+E-c-e+) Patient is K (Kell) Antigen POSITIVE

I’m O Rh D Positive which I think is fine (it’s negative which needs extra testing?)

Has anyone had this before? I’ve emailed midwife team on what I should do next but anxious in the meantime!

thanks

The R1R1 (C+D+E-c-e+) refers to your Rh genotype and phenotype (your genes and what antigens you actually have on your blood cells) - it’s the D that is most significant but the major risk in pregnancy is for RhD- mothers with an RhD+ foetus.

The anti-E means you have antibodies against the RhE antigen - if the foetus is RhE+ this could potentially put them at risk of something called haemolytic disease of the foetus and newborn (HDFN), but anti-E doesn’t usually cause severe anaemia and you’ll likely be offered additional bloods and potentially treatments if anything is needed. The antibodies can occur spontaneously sometimes, or you can be sensitised by something like a previous blood transfusion.

The Kell system is just another type of blood group - it’s a bit like RhD in that the risks generally occur in a negative mother pregnant with a positive foetus.

Thanks @mikeyboo for such a clear explanation! I struggled to find much online. Have you been through this or know professionally? Any idea what they do at this stage in terms of checking further and treatment?

I’m an HCP but not in obstetrics so I’m not sure what the pathway for managing in pregnancy would be - it’s likely to be predominantly bloods and potentially additional monitoring of the baby (including after birth).

It also has relevance for what blood you can be given if you need a transfusion after birth but anti-E is pretty common so it’s well understood!