Rh Factor Question (for the medical/science folks)

[amc80]

I've got a question about Rh factor for those who would know. I'm Rh- and DH is Rh+. I have to get a Rhogam shot with each pregnancy and after a miscarriage. I was explaining this to a friend of mine and she asked a question I couldn't answer:

I wonder what the point of that is from a genetic standpoint. Maybe people will negative blood aren’t supposed to procreate with people with positive blood?

Does anyone have any idea? It seems that most things have a genetic/evolutionary point to them, but I can't think of what this one would be.

 

[ChristineRose]

Wikipedia has some discussion of this.

If everyone the mother encounters is of her same type, the fetus is in no danger.
Rh- men are at a disadvantage in an Rh+ society.
Rh+ women are at a disadvantage in an Rh- society.

An Rh+ person has some protection against toxoplasmosis.

It appears that Rh- people have better reaction times in general.

Therefore whether evolution would favor Rh+ or Rh- depends both on the people you live with and whether there are a lot of cats around.

There's something similar with sickle cell disease. Carriers of sickle cell disease are protected against malaria, but if they have children with another carrier, one quarter of their children will have sickle cell disease, one quarter will be vulnerable to malaria, and two quarters will be protected against malaria with minimal sickness. Whether it's an advantage or not depends on how much malaria is in your area and how many other persons with sickle cell disease are in your potential spouse pool.

 

[lioness]

Just curious, are you of Basque or northern Spanish descent? I've read in various sources that the Basque country has the highest percentage of Rh- people in the world, at 35%.

 

[movie zombie]

I, too, am Rh negative......
luckily, the Rhogram shot had become available 5 years before i needed it and after receiving the shot i was given a card to carry stating my blood type, when i had been given the shot, and with instructions on it to ensure I'd get the shot should i miscarry or deliver.