I'm asking for a friend. Her baby is 3 wks old and her body is fighting off her red blood cells as if they are a foreign object. Has anyone ever heard of this before and if so what treatments work. She is having to have continous blood transfusions. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you
Hi there A.: So sympathic re the newborn's blood cell problem. Sixteen years ago my grand daughter was a preemie. Her schoolmates are celebrating her 16th birthday. So be positive, Usually this happeness when antibodies are present. Go to the Mayo /clinic site and go for "auto immunity diseases." Alot has changed since then.and just maybe your friend just needs your support. Donate blood or encourage your fiends to give blood. Hugs
I work in a Blood Bank --
I'm sure your friend's baby's physician knows why this is happening.
1.) Was the mother's blood type compatible with the baby's -- not just Rh positive or negative.
2.) Is the baby bleeding internally somewhere?
Your friend needs to ask the doctor. He should have an answer and should have some sort of idea of how long transfusions need to be given.
What you can do, and all of her friends, is go give blood -- you can give donor directed blood (if you're the same type as the baby!) It's tested just the same as though it was being given to a stranger. The nicest part of giving blood to a baby is that it is a much smaller amount!
I agree with Chasity (your second response). However, I believe Idopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) -- or something like that -- only receives platelets. Tell her to ask for a Hemotologist .... especially if he "doesn't know" for sure!
My little girl has a blood disorder called ITP. Her body when fighting off viruses,etc. fights off the good and bad eating her blood platelets in the process. This causes her to bleed and cut easily, not being able to clot blood, bruise easily, and she comes out with tiny reddish-brown speckles as small as a pencil point. A normal platelet count is 330,000. When she had her platelets down it dropped to 2500. When they are this low if she would have any kind of trauma to her head she would bleed internally and possibly cause brain damage as well. This is a very serious disorder but can be kept under control. She is in remission right now. When she had low platelets they tested her to make sure it wasn't leukemia by doing a bone marrow tests. Right away we were sent to a Hemoc Team which is a blood disorder team at Children's Hospital and they knew how to handle the disorder. They let us know that she would be hooked to an IV for two hours with a slow drip giving her Gamuglobulin ( a thick clear gel-like substance) and this should raise her platelets. If it didn't we would have other options to choose from to help her. Thank God her platelets raised.
I advise your friend to make sure she has tests run to check to make sure this isn't leukemia or ITP. They also for precautions tested our baby for HIV, etc. I was very satisfied with the Hemoc Team because they knew how to handle this disorder.
ITP is not a common disorder, but if I remember correctly 1 out of every 1000 children get it.
I wish your friend and her little girl well. My prayers are with them because I know this is a scary time for them.
Sincerely,
A.
My 8 year old has ITP which is the body killing off its own platelets. I believe that what you are describing is hemalytic anemia. It is treated with transfusions, steriods, and sometimes spleenectomy. The treatments for it are very similar to the treatments for my son's disorder. After going through a blood disorder with my own child, my first advice is if she is not seeing a hematologist she really needs to. Our doctor was slow to do a referral. I think he wanted to see if we could wait it out but we refused and went quickly to a hematologist. Good luck to her and her baby.
This momma needs to call me, I want her or you to research glyconutrients. This enhances the cell to cell communication in our body. If the cells are not recognizing something they should like "my RBC s are not bad, so I don't need to fight them" the glyconutrients can do nothing but help the cells provide proper communications with each other. This is a fairly new discovery and because it is not FDA approved there are sceptics.. but it has helped me, my children and I believe it can help you. There is nothing to lose. Have her email me. ____@____.com Joy
My neice's baby of 2 yrs old is going through the very same illness as I type to you. He's in the PedsICU at Tulane Hospital also having had received transfusions of blood, antibiotics, and fluids to keep him alive. This is no game, it's a very serious auto-immune disease. If your baby is not hospitalized, please get him/her there immediately. It's life-threatening to have your body discarding red blood cells at a faster rate than the body's natural defenses are able to reproduce new cells. Perhaps the antibiotic you are using is doing more harm than good. It is possible the baby needs a change in medications. Google the illness---Hemolytic Anemia to gather more information on the illness.
My nephew is jaundiced and has already been to surgery and begun dialysis. The medical staff is hoping he will not need the dialysis for much longer. Although they've seen some improvement, he's not out of the woods yet. pray for your child with all the faith you have and get the baby to the hospital, but don't stop praying! I will add your baby to my prayers list. GOD BLESS YOU & your FMLY
A. B-
I don't have any advice for your friend, but I'm so sorry to see your friends trouble w/ her little one. I just wanted to post and let you know she is in our prayers! If I can donate blood at any location here in Northwest Arkasas to add to the blood bank they use please let me know. I'm a b+ and had a baby 2 years ago so I can safely donate again!
Julie-NWA
____@____.com
Was the mother RH-? And did she get a rhogam shot during her pregnancy?
