Single dose of anti-D immunoglobulin for antenatal prophylaxis is smaller in the Netherlands than in the United Kingdom

BMJ 1998;317:1253 ( 31 October )

Letters

Single dose of anti-D immunoglobulin for antenatal prophylaxis is smaller in the Netherlands than in the United Kingdom

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EDITOR $---$ Lee is right in correcting my editorial on dose schedules of anti-D immunoglobulin for antenatal prophylaxis. ¹ ² The Edinburgh consensus conference agreed on two main options $---$ adose of 500 IU at 28 and 34 weeks' gestation or "alternativelya single larger dose early in the trimester," but the size ofthe larger dose was not mentioned.³ It is usually acceptedto be 1500 IU at 28-30 weeks, when a single dose is chosen insteadof two smaller doses. In my editorial I unintentionally mentionedthe Dutch policy of antenatal prophylaxis that was started thisyear. Anti-D immunoglobulin from volunteer Dutch blood donors(CLB Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation, Amsterdam) comes only invials of 1000 IU (apart from a mini-dose of 375 IU, which is usedfor early abortion). This dose has been used in the Netherlandssince the introduction of postnatal prophylaxis in 1969. To avoida third dose of 1500 IU and undoubtedly the introduction of . . . [Full text of this article]