Background: The ABO, Rh, and Kell blood group antigens are clinically significant. Knowledge of antigen frequencies is important to assess the risk of alloimmunization and to guide the probability of finding antigen-negative donor blood. Patients that lack such antigens may produce antibodies that may cause transfusion reaction. The frequencies of ABO, Rh, and Kell antigens in Taif city, Saudi Arabia have not yet been determined. This study aims to assess the frequencies of ABO, Rh, and Kell blood group antigens among Saudi donors in Taif city, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 2,073 Saudi blood donors of both genders from May 2016 to May 2019. The data were collected, and calculations were done to determine the frequencies of ABO, Rh, and Kell blood group antigens.
Results: Of the 2,073 donors, the ABO blood groups of the donors were O (53.8%), A (24.9%), B (16.4%), and AB (4.6%). Rh-positive samples were (87.8%) and (12.1%) were Rh-negative. The most common Rh antigen was e (95.8%), followed by the c and C antigens (81.7% and 62.3%, respectively). The lowest Rh antigen frequency was E (31.3%). DCce was the most prevalent phenotype (29.5%). The KEL1 (K) antigen was determined in (22.1%) of the donors.
Conclusions: This is the first study conducted in Taif city to assess the frequency of ABO, Rh, and Kell antigens among Saudi blood donors. This study provides the first step to create a regional donor database to obtain negative antigen blood units for patients with unexpected antibodies and to offer compatible bloods for multi-transfused cases by designing red cell panels.