A Study of Prevalence of Blood Group of Saudi Patients in King Abdulaziz Medical City-Riyadh

Abstract

Background: Blood groups have been the subject of research because of the importance of blood transfusion in surgery as well as treatment of anemia and other hemorrhagic conditions. Blood groups and immune hematological problems of blood transfusion constitute an extremely interesting, but complex study area and their investigations have much to offer to hematology and immunohematology fields. Aim: The aim of our study is to provide essential data about the distribution of ABO and Rhesus blood groups among Saudi populations and to determine the ABO and Rh phenotype among patients who received blood or blood products in King Abdulaziz Medical City-Riyadh. Methods: For this purpose, we retrospectively evaluated the results of ABO grouping and Rh grouping performed among some patients who received blood or blood products at King Abdulaziz Medical City Riyadh during the year 2013. Results: Participants in this study included four hundred patients (100 children; 28 youths, 88 adults and 184 olds). The gender distribution showed 232 males and 168 females. ABO phenotypes result showed that blood group A is 27%, group B 22%, group AB 3%, and group O is 48%. The percentages of positive and negative Rh grouping phenotypes were 96% and 4%, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study shows that the blood group O is highly frequent among Saudi population, while the blood group AB is the lowest. Rh-negative phenotypes were not as frequent as Rh-positive.