FREQUENCY OF ABO AND RH (D) BLOOD GROUPS AMONG BLOOD DONORS IN RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD AREA

Frequency of ABO and RH(D) Blood Groups

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of various ABO and Rh (D) blood groups among the blood donors in Rawalpindi/Islamabad area of Pakistan.
Study design: Cross sectional descriptive study.
Materials and Methods: Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion (AFIT), Rawapindi from Sep 2010 to Jan 2011. A total of 4642 healthy adult, blood donors (volunteer and directed both) belonging to Rawalpindi/Islamabad region were included. From each donor 2 ml of EDTA blood was taken. ABO and Rh (D) blood grouping were carried out by tube method using commercially prepared antisera. The frequency of each type was calculated.
Results: Among ABO blood groups the most frequent was B with 1593 subjects (34.3%), followed by O with 1454 (31.3%), A with 1124 (24.2%), and AB with 471 (10.1%) individuals. The Rh (D) positive were 4226 subjects (91%) and Rh (D) negative were 416 (9%). Among Rh (D) positive cases, blood group B was most frequent with 1476 (34.9%) individuals, however among Rh (D) negative individuals the most frequent blood group was O with 149 individuals (35.8%).
Conclusion: ‘B’ was most frequent among the ABO blood groups. Knowledge of prevalence of various blood groups in the area will help in managing the transfusion services.