Live Program Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Program Number: 26EL-672

Educational Track: Technical/Clinical
Topics: Blood Donation & Collection, Patient Transfusion
Intended Audience: Directors, Hospital Blood Banks, Hospitals, Managers/Supervisors, Medical Directors, Nurses, Physicians, Residents/Fellows, Students (MD, MT, SBB), Laboratory Professionals, Transfusion Safety Officers

Faculty
(titles and affiliations at the time of the live program)
Director/Moderator: Jasmine "Jazzy" Steele, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Speaker: Kerry O'Brien, MD, Medical Director Blood Bank, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA

Program Description
Rh immune globulin (RhIG) was introduced to market in 1968 as a method of preventing anti-D alloimmunization in RhD negative pregnant women. The use of postpartum RhIG, and the later introduction of antepartum dosing, resulted in a reduction in the rate of anti-D alloimmunization in at-risk pregnancies from 13-16% to 0.14-0.2%. RhIG is one of the most important advances in perinatal medicine; however, as RhIG is a human-derived product, it is subject to the same inventory shortages that plague blood products. The FDA announced a shortage of Rh immune globulin in December 2023 that has lasted through 2025.

In late 2024, members of the Clinical Hemotherapy Subsection of the AABB Transfusion Medicine Subsection Coordinating Committee sent out a survey on RhIG usage during the shortage to AABB member institutions to assess practices. Results indicated that, even during the national shortage while there were reports of RhD negative pregnant women in scattered areas of the US being unable to receive their standard RhIG antepartum and postpartum doses, there was misuse of RhIG in populations of nonchildbearing patients. This program will discuss evidence-based use of RhIG in the target population for which it was created (RhD negative pregnant women). Non-recommended use in men and women outside of childbearing potential will be discussed and the ethics of such use will be briefly touched on.

Learning Objectives
After participating in this educational activity, participants should be able to:

Discuss why Rh immune globulin was created.
Explain how Rh immune globulin is manufactured.
Describe the recommended use of Rh immune globulin in the obstetric population.
Discuss the evidence that details why Rh immune globulin is not necessary following transfusion of DPOS apheresis platelets in DNEG patients.
Detail why Rh immune globulin should not be used in patients without childbearing potential

How to Claim Continuing Education Credit

Single Viewers: if you registered as a single viewer, complete the evaluation found on the "CE Information" tab after watching the video. By submitting the evaluation, you are attesting to watching the presentation in its entirety.

Group Viewers: This is applicable for groups/facilities that purchased Group Viewing access for this program (registration will be verified prior to processing a group viewing attendance log). Group Viewing Coordinators should submit the attendance log to eLearning@aabb.org within 72 hours of the completion/viewing date. Once AABB receives an attendance log, each participant on the attendance log will be granted access as a single viewer to this program and will be required to complete the evaluation in order to claim continuing education credit. Each participant will be required to have an AABB account in order to access this program/platform. If a participant does not have an account, he/she can create one using the same email address provided on the attendance log.

Jasmine "Jazzy" Steele MD

University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Appearances