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cita82

Unexplained recurrent miscarriages and alloimmunity

I've been meaning to write this forum topic for a long time now.
This year I've had two early miscarriages. After the second I decided to take all test necessary to find out what was going on. I want a baby more than anything and going through these two loses has taught me that when you want something you do everything in your reach to make it happen.
So my husband and I began a series of test to determine if there was something interfering with the pregnancies. Apparently my problem was related to "staying" pregnant rather than "getting" pregnant.
I was diagnosed earlier this year with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis so that was the first place we looked. But nope, my hormone levels were under control and so were my antibodies. We looked at my husband sperm, at my progesterone levels, at my uterus morphology...and everything came back normal. All these tests led us to two final exams that could crack the case. Autoimmunity and Alloimmunity.

Autoimmune implantation dysfunction affects blood clotting factors that in turn can affect a pregnancy. This problem is usually remedied with blood thinners.
Alloimmune implantation dysfunction is a far less common problems. It affects your immune system's response to a baby. This occurs when certain genetic markers in your husband's sperm are too similar to your genetic markers. The body attacks the embryo because it perceives it as your cells dividing too quickly (aka cancer) and thus decides to terminate or miscarry the embryo.

Well it turns out that our problem was alloimmune. Couples need a minimum of 35% difference between these markers and my husband and I were only 14% different.
We are now undergoing immunotherapy using my husband's blood so that I can be "vaccinated" against his genetic markers and my body can recognize his sperm, and his sperm's genetic material, as different; thus ensuing an appropriate immune response to the pregnancy (not attacking the embryo).
I've read on the web that Doctors normally don't test for alloimmunity. It is an expensive test and many doctors will only consider this option after several miscarriages.
Our doctor tells us that there is a 86% chance that we will have a normal full term pregnancy with this treatment. We are crossing our fingers and praying that all goes well.
I wanted to write about this topic to share my experience. Recurrent miscarriage is painful and I don't want anyone in the world to go through that. If my experience can help someone avoid recurrent miscarriages then I feel like I am doing something to help other couples navigate the difficult journey of becoming parents.
We are scheduled to have our second round of treatment in 3 weeks. After that we will test if our percentage is above 35. I will let you know how it goes ;)