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The antibody they are referring to is Anti-D, which is not really a rare antibody, but it IS rare to find it in a male. Before RhoGam became available, women (like my own mother) who were Rh negative could form an antibody to the Rh D antigen if they became pregnant with an Rh positive child. In subsequent pregnancies, that antibody could travel through the placenta and attack the blood cells of a baby who was Rh positive. This has largely been prevented by the administration of RhoGam (which is simply anti-D in a vial) within 72 hours of giving birth to a Rh positive baby. The best source of Rhogam is the plasma of people who like the man in the story have an anti-D antibody in their plasma. In the case of a miscarriage or abortion, the women should be given the RhoGam even though the blood type of the child is not known because the odds are that the baby was Rh positive (as is 85% of the population). Rhogam can also be given prenatally to a pregnant woman who is at least 28 weeks gestation. That is what they did with my daughter who is A neg and has a son who will be a year old in April.

I can relate to this man's desire to donate blood in appreciation for what was done for him. When my daughter and her twin sisters were born in 1980, I had to have a C-section which went fine, but, for some reason, I began to bleed afterward. I had to have a hysterectomy later that same day to get me to stop bleeding, but in the process I received 10 units of blood in about a 6 hour period. A normal person only has 5-6 units in their entire body, so, obviously, I would not be alive today had it not been for those 10 "strangers" who gave the gift of life to me. I now give blood every eight weeks and have done so for many years. I am O pos which is the type that is most in demand. My husband asks me from time to time, "Haven't you donated enough?" My answer is that I can never donate enough to repay those 10 people who saved my life that day!