diff --git a/psycopg/xid_type.c b/psycopg/xid_type.c
index bc5e3ca5..b28543ca 100644
--- a/psycopg/xid_type.c
+++ b/psycopg/xid_type.c
@@ -78,7 +78,9 @@ static PyMemberDef xid_members[] = {
 static PyObject *
 xid_new(PyTypeObject *type, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
 {
-    XidObject *self = (XidObject *)type->tp_alloc(type, 0);
+    XidObject *self;
+
+    if (!(self = (XidObject *)type->tp_alloc(type, 0))) { return NULL; }
 
     Py_INCREF(Py_None);
     self->format_id = Py_None;