Distribution of ABO and Rh Blood Groups among Major Ethnic Groups of Medical Students of Madonna University Teaching Hospital, Elele, Nigeria

Abstract

s: The ABO and Rh blood groups are the most important blood groups despite the long list of several other blood groups discovered so far. The ABO and Rh blood groups varies worldwide and are not found in equal numbers even among ethnic groups. Therefore, this study was aimed at having information on the distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups among the major ethnic groups of medical students in Madonna University Teaching Hospital, Elele, Nigeria. A total of 193 students were randomly selected among the medical students of the Madonna University Teaching Hospital and tested. The students were divided into 3 major ethnic groups i.e., Igbo, 68 (31 males, 37 females) students, Yoruba, 62 (42 males, 20 females) students and Hausa, 63 (29 males, 34 females) students. Blood samples were collected by cubital venepuncture. A drop of each of the antisera, anti A, anti B and anti D was added and mixed with each blood sample and rocked gently for 60 sec to observe agglutination. There are differences in frequency distribution of the blood group (ABO) among the ethnic groups of the students. Blood group O and Rh-positive has highest frequency while blood group AB and Rh-negative has lowest frequency in the three ethnic groups. However, apart from the importance of ABO and Rh blood groups in blood transfusion practice, it is therefore imperative to have information on the distribution of these blood groups in any population group that comprise different ethnic groups.