A simple and sensitive erythroblast scoring system to identify fetal cells in maternal blood

Abstract

Fetal NRBCs have characteristic morphology and a gamma hemoglobin staining appearance that makes them distinguishable from maternal NRBCs. The scoring system presented here is a simple and sensitive method to distinguish fetal NRBCs from adult cells in maternal blood. This system may have clinical utility for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis as well as applications for basic research into the developmental biology of NRBCs. In addition, these defined parameters may serve as computational classifiers for the automated detection of fetal cells in maternal blood.