Persistence of donor cells in neonates after fetal and exchange transfusion

Cytogenetic analysis was performed on the peripheral blood of 14 male infants who had received fetal transfusions of maternal blood and on 48 infants who had received exchange transfusion with donor blood of the opposite sex. Similar observations were made on the 167 donor blood packs prior to transfusion. Maternal lymphocytes have persisted for longer than 2 years in the peripheral blood of 4 infants who received fetal transfusion. In contrast, no donor lymphocytes were identified beyond 6 to 8 weeks post transfusion in the infants who received exchange transfusion with donor blood of blood bank origin.