>I am looking for any and all information regarding Kell and
>breastfeeding. I have a mother who is currently pregnant with Kell, if
>her baby survives, she wants to breastfeed, I have read that she may
>not be able to breastfeed because the anti-kell antigens are passed to
>the baby through breastmilk and could be harmful if the baby is Kell
>positive. I have searched all over for more info and have had no luck.
>You can email me privately.
>
>thank you so much,
>Ange Renel
>[log in to unmask]

Hi Ange,
I am behind reading Lactnet (been away at ILCA conference) so I don't
know if others have responded to this.

I used to work in blood banking (about 20 years ago now!) but recall
that Kell is a blood group (and hence an antigen on red blood cells
of Kell positive people). Anti-Kell antibodies formed in a Kell
negative person are usually IgG, which is the class of antibody that
causes trouble in Rh disease, However, I don't think they are nearly
as dangerous as anti-Rh. Anti-K antibodies are significant for blood
transfusions and so patients and donors are often typed along with
ABO and Rh.

It sounds like the mother is being warned about anti-K *antibodies*
getting into her milk - not the antigen. The antigen is stuck on the
red cells in her blood. I would *very* surprised if this is a risk to
her baby. It is not even a risk with anti-Rh. The risk is during
pregnancy, but I don't know if anti-K is strong enough to cause
trouble for a foetus. (Maybe in this case it is.) I have no
recollection of any RBC antigens other than Rh and ABO that can cause
haemolytic disease of the newborn.

None of these (even anti-Rh) should be a problem through the milk,
mainly because the vast majority of antibodies in breastmilk are IgA,
with very little IgG. (The only possible exception, *theoretically*,
is a mother who is IgA-deficient, and has antibodies in her milk
other than IgA.)

I would be interested in what you have read about this being
dangerous for this baby.

If you want further information, I suggest you look in blood group
serology texts - look in sections about the Kell antigen system and
chapters on haemolytic disease of the newborn.

Joy
******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
******************************************************************

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