Could a Rh- Mother and Father Create a Rh+ Baby With a Rh+ Surrogate Mother?

  • Thread starter Thread starter cobby174
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Negative
AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the implications of Rhesus (Rh) blood type compatibility during pregnancy. It begins with the scenario of a Rhesus negative mother having a Rhesus positive baby, highlighting the risk of the mother’s antibodies attacking the baby's red blood cells in subsequent pregnancies. The conversation then shifts to the genetic dominance of Rhesus positive blood, noting that a Rhesus positive mother and a Rhesus negative father would typically result in a Rhesus positive child, making the reverse scenario unlikely. The thread further explores a hypothetical situation involving IVF, where an Rh- egg and sperm are implanted in an Rh+ surrogate mother. The main question raised is whether the fetus would produce antibodies in this case, given that the fetus itself does not produce antibodies during early development. The poster expresses a desire to gather more information and plans to consult university lecturers for further insights.
cobby174
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
So there I was thinking, if the mother was Rhesus Negative and she had a Rhesus positive baby, her antibodies would cross the placenta and attack the Rhesus positive baby's red blood cells (assuming second child).

Then I thought, well, what if the mother was Rhesus positive, and the baby was Rhesus negative?

Well...firstly, Rhesus positive (Rh+) is dominant, yes? It causes the expression of the important "D" antigen on the surface of RBC. Therefore, a Rhesus positive mother and a Rhesus negative father would give a Rhesus positive baby. Therefore, we can conclude that the mother can never be Rhesus positive while the foetus/(baby) was Rhesus negative or at least...this scenario is unlikely?!

But wait...

What if, we took a Rh- mother's egg, and a Rh- father's sperm, fertilised it and through IVF placed it in a Rh+ SURROGATE mother? What effects would occur?!

Would nothing occur because the foetus does not produce antibodies at all?

- Cobby

P.S. Yes I just wanted to let you know I went through the thought process...took a while to get to the question :)
 
Biology news on Phys.org
I'm sorry you are not finding help at the moment. Is there any additional information you can share with us?
 
Nope..no additional information...that's ok thanks for asking! I'm going to ask some university lecturers too so if I get the answer I'll let ye all know :)
 
Deadly cattle screwworm parasite found in US patient. What to know. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2025/08/25/new-world-screwworm-human-case/85813010007/ Exclusive: U.S. confirms nation's first travel-associated human screwworm case connected to Central American outbreak https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-confirms-nations-first-travel-associated-human-screwworm-case-connected-2025-08-25/...
Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S. According to articles in the Los Angeles Times, "Chagas disease, long considered only a threat abroad, is established in California and the Southern U.S.", and "Kissing bugs bring deadly disease to California". LA Times requires a subscription. Related article -...
I am reading Nicholas Wade's book A Troublesome Inheritance. Please let's not make this thread a critique about the merits or demerits of the book. This thread is my attempt to understanding the evidence that Natural Selection in the human genome was recent and regional. On Page 103 of A Troublesome Inheritance, Wade writes the following: "The regional nature of selection was first made evident in a genomewide scan undertaken by Jonathan Pritchard, a population geneticist at the...
Back
Top