Distribution of ABO and Rhesus Types in the Northern Asir Region in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The ABO blood group system is used to denote the presence of one, both, or neither of the A and B antigens on erythrocytes. In humans, this is the most important of the 43 different blood type (or group) classification systems currently recognized. Distribution of ABO and Rh among the Saudi population could affect many factors such as blood transfusion, prognosis, resistance and susceptibility to diseases. The impetus of this study was to develop an understanding of the distribution of the ABO and Rh types of healthy volunteer blood donors in the northern Asir region of Saudi Arabia, comparing the findings to similar studies. Understanding the frequency of different blood types in different populations is imperative. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study was performed during the period of January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, using samples from 4167 voluntary subjects obtained from the blood bank of the King Abdullah Hospital, Bisha. Commercially provided anti-A, anti-B and anti-D antibodies were used for the standard blood grouping procedure. RESULTS: The findings in this study showed that O was the most prominent ABO blood group, whereas AB was the least so. The frequency of the blood type A was the second highest, followed by the blood group B, whereas Rh positivity was more common than Rh negativity. CONCLUSION: O+ > A+ > B+ > O-> AB+> A-> B- > AB- was found to be the order of blood group frequency in the current study.