Historic Overview of Rh System
•First discovered in:
•1939
•Person who named it:
•Karl Landsteiner and Wiener used Rhesus monkey to immunize rabbits or guinea pigs (now known as anti-LW)
•Which antigen was discovered:
•Anti-LW – anti-D later discovered to be different in humans
•Others involved in early identification of system:
•Levine & Stetson – linked HDN to maternal antibody
•Major antigens in Rh system:
•D, C, D, E, c, and e
•Levine et al – linked Rh antibody of Landsteiner to HDN