Prevalence of ABO and Rh Blood Group Among Volunteer Blood Donors at the Blood and Tissue Bank Service in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: The discovery of the ABO blood group system and testing of blood donors highly reduced the fatalities associated with blood transfusion reactions and improved the safety of blood transfusion. Blood group antigens are found on the surface of red blood cells that are inherited biological characteristics that do not change throughout life in healthy individuals.

Objective: To determine the prevalence ABO and Rh blood groups Among Volunteer Blood Donors at Ethiopian blood and tissue bank service (EBTBS), Addis Ababa.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from January 2022 to May 2022, on 1700 volunteer blood donors to assess prevalence of ABO and Rh blood groups among volunteer blood donors at the Ethiopian blood and tissue bank service. All tests were performed using fully automated immunohematology analyzer (Galileo Neo Immucor). Data processing and analysis were undertaken by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. An ethical clearance letter was obtained from Addis Ababa University and informed consent was also obtained from the participants of the study.

Results: A total of 1700 donors were included, of which 57% of donors were males. The majority of the donors belonged to the age group between 18 and 25 years old (53%). The antigen frequencies of ABO and Rh(D) blood group system showed that O was the most prevalent blood group 44.65% followed by A (28.41%), B (21.24%), and AB (5.71%). The Rh-positive donors were more prevalent (94.82%) as oppose to the Rh-negative (5.18%).

Conclusion: The knowledge of the distribution of blood groups is very important for blood banks and transfusion services which play an important role in the patient's health care. The findings of the ABO blood group in this study were comparable to other studies conducted in Ethiopia.