Haemolytic disease of the newborn due to anti-Ce

Anti-Ce complicating two consecutive pregnancies with increasing severity of haemolytic disease of the newborn

The Ce antigen is expressed on red cells of individuals with Rh haplotypes, R1 or CDe and r' or Cde. However, anti-Ce is rare, and only two cases of severe haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) caused by this antibody have been described (Malde et al., 2000; Wagner et al., 2000). We describe a woman who was found to have anti-Ce in her second pregnancy, resulting in a neonate with HDN that required exchange transfusion. She subsequently had a twin pregnancy, where both the twins were affected by severe haemolytic disease (HD) of the fetus because of anti-Ce and required repeated fetal transfusions, followed by exchange transfusions after birth. This is the first reported case of HD caused by anti-Ce requiring fetal transfusions.