Association of ABO and RH blood group with transfusion transmitted infections (TTI) among blood donors in north India

Abstract

Background: The present study was conducted with the aim to determine the pattern of distribution and to detect any association of transfusion transmitted infections (TTI) with ABO and Rh blood groups. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at the blood bank of our hospital over a period of two years. A total of 36,614 healthy donors were included in the study. All the donor blood bags were screened for HbsAg, HIV, HCV, Syphilis and Malaria. The most common blood group was B positive (34.91%) while the least common was AB negative (0.61%). The total seroreactivity of TTI was 5.59%. Out of the total, 2.38% cases were reactive for HBsAg, 1.27% for anti HCV, 0.35% for HIV, 1.29% for syphilis and 0.29% for Malaria. Maximum seroreactivity was seen in blood group B positive (1.79%) followed by O positive (1.54%) and then A positive (1.28%). A significant association was seen between Rh positive blood group and HBsAg seropositivity (P value of 0.0459). In syphilis positive donors, there was significant association between syphilis infection and AB blood group with a P value of 0.0331. Conclusion: This study provides the prevalence of ABO and Rh blood group and also their association with the transfusion transmitted infections (TTI). This study shows a significant association between Rh positive blood group and HBsAg and also significant association was seen between AB positive blood group and syphilis infection. Keywords: ABO, Rh, Blood group, TTI.