Doctors perform rare procedure to transfuse blood to the fetus

A mother lost three babies in three pregnancies within hours of delivery and one in the womb. A medical examination revealed that the babies were dying of anemia. When the woman became pregnant for the fourth time, she underwent a rare procedure to transfuse blood to the fetus three times. The doctors in the city performed the challenging task to save the baby''s life.

"This is the first time in Marathwada that such a rare procedure has been performed to supply blood to the fetus from outside," said Dr Prarthana Shah-Deshpande, fetal medicine specialist of the Kpond Super-speciality hospital in a press conference here on Thursday.

Hospital chief Dr Varsha Vaidya, Dr Shraddha Chandak, Dr Veeranchi Vaidya, Praveen Sardeshpande, Satish Mhetre and Santosh Srivastava were present. Dr Prarthana Shah-Deshpande said, "The difference in blood type between men and women led to the diagnosis of miscarriage. Due to Covid-19, the couple was neglecting diagnosis and treatment.

But the doctors themselves followed up on the process of transfusing blood to their fourth fetus at 24, 27 and 30 weeks of gestation. The woman gave birth. The baby''s hemoglobin, weight is normal. So the baby is safe. Another couple was also given blood transfusions in this way."

Baby will form its own blood group

The baby was given O-negative blood while in the womb. Therefore, after birth, the baby is diagnosed as O-negative. But after 3 months of birth, the baby''s body will begin the process of forming its own blood group, the doctor said.