Prevalence and distribution of ABO and Rh-D blood groups in the Barpeta district of lower Assam in north-east India: Importance in regional blood transfusion service

The knowledge of the distribution of ABO and Rh-D blood groups is essential for effective management of blood bank inventory by estimating the availability of compatible blood and also evaluating the probability of hemolytic disease in the new born. Among a total 35 blood groups systems and over 600 different blood group antigens discovered so far ABO and Rhesus are the most important blood group system. Importance of Rh-blood group system is due to immunogenicity, polymorphism and complexity of its antigens. ABO and Rh-D grouping were done in 40,915 samples from blood donors, transfusion recipients, antenatal cases and other routine medical cases in the Blood Bank, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College & Hospital, Barpeta, Assam. Data on the frequency of ABO and Rh-D blood groups were reported in simple numbers and percentages. Among the various ABO and Rh-D blood groups, “O” (37.86%) group is the most common followed by “B” (32.96%), “A” (23.4%) and “AB” (5.78%) with a predominance’s of Rh positivity (96.28%). The remaining 3.72% was Rh-D negative. Study of distribution of blood group is not only important for effective management of blood bank and transfusion services but it is also essential for geographical information, genetic studies, clinical medicine and forensic medicine in addition to compatibility testing done before transfusion.