PURE RED-CELL APLASIA OF PREGNANCY - A DISTINCT CLINICAL ENTITY

We describe a 31-year-old patient with pure red cell aplasia of pregna ncy, successfully managed with regular blood transfusions. In vitro st udies showed specific inhibition of day 14 erythroid colonies (BFU-E) using serum and purified immunoglobulin G (IgG) obtained from the pati ent at diagnosis (before blood transfusion). The inhibition of BFU-E d isappeared when haematological remission occurred 3 weeks after delive ry and she remains clinically well with a normal haemoglobin 4 years l ater.