DISTRIBUTION OF ABO AND RH BLOOD GROUPS AMONG BLOOD DONORS AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

BACKGROUND The ABO and Rhesus (Rh) blood group system is the most important system for blood transfusion purposes. The incidence of ABO and Rh groups varies markedly in different races, ethnic groups as well as socioeconomic groups in different parts of the world. This study was conducted to determine the frequency of ABO and Rh blood groups in a tertiary care teaching hospital in western Maharashtra. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective data based study was conducted at the blood bank of Government Medical College, Miraj and Padma Bhushan Vasantdada Patil Government Hospital, Sangli, Maharashtra over a period of three years. A total of 12056 donors were studied. The commonest blood group was B (3698, 30.68%) followed by O (3685, 30.56%). Rh+ donors were predominant constituting 95.16% whereas only 4.84% donors were Rh-ve. RESULTS Blood groups of 12056 donors were studied. All patients aged between 18-60 years. Most of the donors were from 21-40 years. CONCLUSION The knowledge of distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups at local and regional levels is helpful in effective management of blood banks and safe blood transfusion services.