Objective: Our purpose was to establish an animal model for hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn by developing red blood cell alloimmunization techniques in the rabbit.
Study design: Twenty-six nonpregnant New Zealand White or Red does underwent blood typing to identify them as homozygous at the HgA or HgF red blood cell antigen locus. Alloimmunization to incompatible red blood cells was attempted through a series of subcutaneous injections using complete then incomplete Freund's adjuvant.
Results: Successful induction of an antibody response occurred in 96% of cases. The median response in FF rabbits was 2560 (range 40 to 10,240), whereas the response in AA does was 2560 (range 320 to 20,480). These responses were not statistically different (p = 0.77). Responses were categorized as poor, moderate, or good. No difference was noted between FF and AA does in distribution of the categories of response (p = 0.53).
Conclusion: Red blood cell alloantibodies of high titer can be induced successfully in the rabbit.