The Frequencies of ABO and Rh Phenotypes among Male Blood Donors in Northwestern Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Transfusion-dependent patients in Saudi Arabia are numerous because of the existence of life-threatening inherited diseases such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia. Thus, analysis of the frequencies of the ABO and rhesus (Rh) phenotypes is vital. This study sought to evaluate the frequencies of the ABO and Rh phenotypes among male blood donors in Hail region. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-six (126) blood samples were collected from male donors living in Hail region and were screened for ABO and Rh phenotypes. The collected data were statistically analyzed using GraphPad Prism (version 9.3.1). RESULTS: Among 126 blood donors, 43.6% were classified into the O blood group. Additionally, Rh antigen e was predominantly detected in this study (99.2%). A total of 103 blood donors exhibited D antigen, whereas 23 were negative for D antigen. The DCe/dce (R1r) phenotype was observed in 29.1% of RhD positive donors, while 73.9% of RhD negative blood donors expressed the dce/dce (rr) phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: The O phenotype and e antigen were most frequently observed in male blood donors from Hail province. RhD positive samples took advantage of total blood donor samples over RhD negative samples. CcDee (R1r) phenotype was commonly identified in the RhD positive population, whereas ccddee (rr) phenotype was consis¬tently detected in the RhD negative male donors.