Distribution of ABO and Rh-D Blood Group among Blood Transfusion Recipients in a Tertiary Health Care Centre: Panacea for an Effective Blood Transfusion Service

Aims: This study was designed to determine the distribution of ABO and Rh-D blood group of clients accessing blood transfusion services in Jos University Teaching Hospital.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Place and Duration of Study: Blood Bank of the Jos University Teaching Hospital from January 2022 to December 2022.

Methodology: Blood Transfusion request forms of all clients’ were reviewed and compared with the Blood Bank in-house records excluding repeat requests.

Results: A total of 8,548 blood transfusion request forms obtained from the blood bank and clients' folders were reviewed and compared with the Blood Bank's in-house records excluding repeat requests. There were 3818(44.70%) males while females accounted for 55.30% of the subjects. Ages 0-9 accounted for 1100(12.87 %) of the study subjects while ages 30-39 had the highest request of 1874 (21.92%). The least request, 7 (0.10%) was among recipients between ages 100-109 with the females dominating. The ABO blood group O was the commonest at 47.00% closely followed by blood group B at 28.00% while blood groups A and AB accounted for 21.00% and 5.00% respectively. Rh-D antigen positive blood group accounted for 96.00% of all the subjects with Rh-D negative at 4.00%.

Conclusion: This study on the distribution of ABO and Rh-D blood group among blood transfusion recipients in our facility followed the O>B>A>AB pattern with Rh-D antigen positive blood group being the commonest. This finding will enhance annual health planning regarding blood needs in our facility towards an effective health care delivery.