Collection and use of autologous fetal blood

A prospective study was completed to evaluate the feasibility of autologous fetal blood collection. Following puncture on the umbilical vein, fetal blood was drawn into sterile heparinized plastic syringes and aliquots were subjected to coagulation and culture studies. None of the blood samples exhibited significant growth of bacterial pathogens and all patients had normal coagulation studies at 24 hours of age. These data demonstrate that fetal blood can be safely collected and given to infants subjected to shock or iatrogenic blood loss.