Frequency of ABO and rhesus blood groups among neonates born at a private hospital in Istanbul.

In this study we used gel centrifugation to determine the frequency and sex distribution of ABO and Rh blood group antigens among 4,656 neonates (2,317 males, 2,339 females) born at a private hospital in Istanbul. Group A Rh+ was the most frequent blood type and AB Rh- was the least frequent. Female neonates had a higher frequency of Rh+ blood than male neonates. Group A blood was detected most frequently followed by group O, group B, and group AB. Sex was not significantly associated with blood type. These results fall within the range of previously reported blood type frequencies for Turkey. Our data allow the creation of a blood bank database for the hospital.