Rh phenotype, allele and haplotype frequencies among 51,857 blood donors in North India.

BACKGROUND

This study was performed to provide information on the frequencies of Rh antigens, alleles, phenotypes, and haplotypes from our region in India and to compare them with those from other races.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This observational study was conducted on blood donors from March 2009 to August 2011 using a fully automated system for Rh typing of blood cells. The data were collected and calculations done to determine the antigen, phenotypes, allele and haplotype frequencies. The chi square test was used for comparisons between the results of our study and those of other studies.

RESULTS

A total of 51,857 donors were included in this study. The most common Rh antigen found was "e". DCCee was the most prevalent phenotype in our study with the phenotype distribution being significantly different between our study and other studies from different regions of the world.

DISCUSSION: We have determined the prevalence of Rh antigens and Rh phenotypes in the North Indian blood donor population and derived the allele and haplotype frequencies in the same population. The Rh blood group distribution in this population was different from that in other populations.