A serene pregnancy thanks to this analysis made possible by Héma-Québec
12,000 pregnant women to benefit each year from 2026 onwards
Every year, approximately 12,000 pregnant women in Quebec receive anti-D immunoglobulin as a preventive measure against hemolytic disease of the newborn and fetus. This disease can occur when the fetus has an RhD-positive blood type, unlike its mother. The mother’s immune system may then develop antibodies against the fetus’s red blood cells, which it mistakenly perceives as a threat.
Currently, since the baby’s blood type is unknown before birth, all 12,000 women in this group receive anti-D immunoglobulin. However, for about 5,000 of them, this treatment is unnecessary.
Having received an official mandate from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Héma-Québec has launched the Fetal RHD Project, which aims to provide access to an analysis that determines whether the fetus’s blood type is RhD-positive or RhD-negative. All the mother needs to do is have a simple blood test at the beginning of her second trimester.
This means that 12,000 pregnant women will undergo the analysis each year, or about 200 analyses per week.
All analyses will be conducted at Héma-Québec’s headquarters in Montreal.
The goal is to incorporate this new analysis into the prenatal care of all pregnant women in the province starting in the fall of 2026.
The Fetal RHD Project represents a breakthrough that will help future mothers enjoy a more peaceful pregnancy.
Thanks to your donations, Quebec will be a pioneer in this field!
This program is part of Héma-Québec’s strategic plan to meet the essential needs of immunodeficient people in Quebec. These people must receive medications derived from plasma processing once a month or more.
Héma-Québec offers cutting-edge training to blood bank technicians around the world, enabling them to improve their problem-solving techniques for erythrocyte immunology problems encountered in their laboratories.
The Héma-Québec Foundation is proud to participate in the financing of the RhD fetal project, which will enable future Quebec mothers to know the blood type of their fetus. Every year in Quebec, some 12,000 pregnant women have an RhD-negative blood group.
Quebec’s First Nations have much more than their own culture and history. Their genetic profiles, too, are unique on the planet! This uniqueness poses a particular challenge, especially given their marked under-representation in Quebec’s stem cell donor registry…
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