Distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups in a major ethnic group of the West Iran, the Kurdish population

ABO and Rh are the most important blood group systems with various distributions reported for different populations. There are no reports referring to the distribution of the ABO/Rh blood groups in Iranian Kurdish population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the frequency of these blood groups among this major Iranian ethnic group from Ilam city. Materials and Methods: 1,534 blood donors attending the blood transfusion service in Ilam, Iran, were randomly selected over a period of six months. The ABO/Rh blood groups were determined by the forward and reverse grouping. Results: The most frequent blood group in men and women was A and O; respectively, followed by B and AB. In the Rh system, 91.1% of the donors were positive and 8.9% were negative. Conclusion: This study provided new insight into distribution of the ABO/Rh blood groups in a major ethnic population of west Iran. Moreover, the presented data may also be useful in health care planning, population genetic studies, genetic counseling and medical diagnosis.