BORN FIGHTER; Jasmine survives 11 blood transfusions in the womb.

Byline: EMILY COOK

TODDLER Jasmine Tanner is a born survivor after having 11 life-saving blood transfusions in her mother's womb.

Jasmine would have died from a lethal condition in which her blood group was incompatible with mum Melanie's.

As well as having jabs of donated blood directly into her umbilical cord, the tot needed three more transfusions in an intensive care unit after she was born.

But a year on, she is a picture of health and the only evidence of her fight for life are the tiny needle scars on her tummy.

Nurse Melanie, 34, told of her eternal gratitude and joy as she said: "Without people who generously donate blood we wouldn't have Jasmine here with us today.

"We would have missed out on the most beautiful little girl. I will always be in their debt, whoever they are."

Jasmine developed rhesus disease because although her mum is rhesusnegative, the tot inherited rhesus-positive blood from dad Duncan, 33.

It meant Melanie produced antibodies that attacked her unborn infant's blood cells. Doctors detected the condition when she was nine weeks pregnant.

From 16 weeks on, they began fortnightly transfusions of rhesus-negative blood. Each one carried the risk of Melanie losing her baby.

Melanie said: "It was terrifying. But we had to do everything to give our baby the best chance of survival. I was petrified. It was a very tense and stressful time."

Jasmine was successfully delivered by caesarean section at 34 weeks.

Rhesus-negative women usually have trouble-free first pregnancies.

Mum-of-three Melanie, of Warsash, Hants, had no problems with first child Ryan, born rhesus-negative like her six years ago.

There is a set of injections to prevent rhesus disease in later kids. But when she was carrying second child Owen, one jab was forgotten.

It crucially meant she developed the antibodies, rendering any further jabs powerless.

Her son, now four, was born severely anaemic and needed a blood transfusion immediately afterwards.

David Howe, who oversaw Jasmine's life-saving treatment at a Southampton hospital, said: "The baby required so many transfusions because her mum had such a severe case of rhesus antibody from an early stage of pregnancy. It's a very intricate procedure."

CAPTION(S):

BATTLING FOR LIFE Little Jasmine lies hooked up to tubes in intensive care BUNDLE OF JOY Melanie cradles healthy Jasmine