Frequency and distribution of blood groups in tribal blood donors of Tripura

Abstract

Background: There has been a common belief among the people of Tripura that the frequency and distribution of blood groups in tribal people of Tripura are not similar to that of other parts of India. Aims: To find out frequency and distribution of blood groups in tribal people of Tripura. Setting and Design: A data-based study carried out in a tertiary care teaching institute, Agartala. Methodology: After obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee, this study was conducted among the blood donors from tribal communities of different areas of Tripura, who donated blood from October 2012 to August 2013. ABO blood grouping was performed by forward (cell grouping) and reverse blood grouping (serum grouping) using test tube agglutination method using antisera A and antisera B. Rh blood grouping was performed by forward blood grouping (cell grouping) method using antisera D. Weak D (Du) testing were done in case of Rh negative cases. Statistical Analysis Used: Percentage and proportion. Results: Out of 508 blood donors, 421 (82.9%) were male and 87 (17.1%) were female. Majority of blood donors came from 21-40 years of age group. B (33.7%) group is in maximum numbers followed by O (30.3%) and A (24.2%) groups; whereas minimum are from AB group (11.8%). Blood donations by females are low as it is in other areas of India. Conclusion: B is the most frequent and O is the second most common blood group of ABO blood group system among the tribal blood donors of Tripura. Rh-positive donors were 94.5% and Rh negative were 5.5%.