Frequency and distribution of ABO and Rhesus blood groups in blood donors in a provincial hospital of Jammu

Abstract

Background: The ABO and Rhesus (Rh) blood group systems are genetically inherited and play very vital role in blood transfusions, parental and genetic testing and addressing medico legal issues. Objective: This study was conducted to determine the distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups among blood donors in provincial Hospital at Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, India. Materials and Methods: An observational descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at Blood bank of Government Hospital Gandhi Nagar over a period of one year from 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2015. ABO and Rh typing was done using slide agglutination method with antisera ABO and Rh. Tube agglutination method was done in doubtful cases and they were further confirmed by reverse grouping using known pooled A and B cells. Results were reported in percentages and proportions. Results & conclusion: Out of 2808 donors, 2360 (84%) were males and 448 (16%) were females. Majority of donors belonged to age group 26-35 years. The commonest ABO blood group present was B (37%) followed by O (26.3%), A (25.6%) and AB (11.1%) while 2606 (92.8%) donors were Rh-positive and 202(7.2%) donors were Rh negative. Replacement donors (83.1%) were much more than voluntary donors (16.9%). Conclusion: Distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups has important role to play in management and functioning of blood banks. Key Words: ABO, Blood groups, Blood donors, Rhesus (Rh)group