Allelic variance among blood group genotypes in a population from the western region of Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND

Characterization of the ABO blood group at the phenotype and genotype levels is clinically essential for transfusion, forensics, and population studies. This study elucidated ABO phenotypes and genotypes, and performed an evaluation of their distribution in individuals from the western region of Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

One-hundred and seven samples underwent standard serological techniques for ABO blood group phenotype analysis. alleles and genotypes were identified using multiplex polymerase chain reaction, and electrophoretic analysis was performed to evaluate the highly polymorphic locus.

RESULTS

A phenotype distribution of 37.4%, 30.8%, 24.3%, and 7.5% was found for blood groups O, A, B, and AB respectively in our study cohort. Genotype analysis identified 10 genotype combinations with the and genotypes being the most frequent with frequencies of 33.6% and 14.95%, respectively. Common genotypes such as , , , , and were not detected. Similarly, the rare genotypes, , , and were not found in our cohort. The most frequently observed allele was O02 (35.98%) followed by the allele (17.76%). Furthermore, our findings are discussed in reference to allele and genotype frequencies found in other ethnic groups.

CONCLUSION

The study has a significant implication on the management of blood bank and transfusion services in Saudi Arabian patients.