





Prevalence of ABO and Rhesus Blood Groups among Blood Donors
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Background: ABO and Rhesus (Rh) blood group antigens are hereditary characters and are useful in population genetic studies, in resolving medico-legal issues and more importantly for the immunologic safety of blood during transfusion.
Objectives: To document the distribution pattern of the ABO and Rh blood groups among blood donors in and around Davangere (Karnataka).
Methods: The distribution of ABO and Rh blood group was analyzed among 19,413 blood donors, over a period of 5 years (2005 to 2009). The age group and sex of donors, frequency of ABO blood groups and Rh status were calculated.
Results: The predominant donors belonged to the age group between 18-35 years (86.18%). Male to female ratio among donors was 86:1. The most prevalent blood group was O (36.76%), followed by group B (29.85%) and group A (26.15%). The least common blood group was AB (7.24%). The prevalence of Rh positive and negative distribution in the studied population was 94.48 and 5.52% respectively. The highest frequency of coexisting ABO-Rh phenotypes was that of O positive (34.67%) followed by B positive (29.85%) and A positive (26.15%).
Conclusion: Knowledge of frequencies of the different blood groups is very important for blood banks and transfusion service policies that could contribute significantly to the National Health System.