Frequency Distribution of ABO and Rhesus (D) Blood Groups in Tacloban City, Philippines (2014-2015)

Anonymous

by: Carlito C. Cabo, Jr., Leni G. Yap-Dejeto

Abstract

Information on blood frequency distribution is important as it is used in genetic research, modern medicine, counseling, anthropology, and health care planning. For example, studies show individuals with Blood Group A are more susceptible to infections and severe COVID-19. This study intended to determine the phenotype ABO and Rh (D) blood groups’ frequencies in Tacloban City and compare this with the national distribution. Blood records from three health service centers were judiciously collected from March 2014 to March 2015; the frequency distributions of two blood group systems, ABO and Rhesus (D), were then determined. A total of 5,953 entries, ranging from infants to adults, within the city were collected. The distribution of the phenotypic frequency for ABO blood groups were 45.4%, 24.0%, 24.9%, and 5.7%, for groups O, A, B, and AB, respectively; while the frequency distribution for the Rhesus (D) blood groups were 98.9% and 1.1% for Rh (D)+ and Rh (D)-, respectively. Chi-square tests on the frequency distributions revealed a distinction between Tacloban and the national population. Allelic frequencies were calculated and yielded these results: 0.6720 for O allele, 0.1613 for A allele, and 0.1667 for B allele. This study provides the first record on phenotypic and genotypic frequencies of these blood groups in the city. The phenotypic frequencies of Tacloban population from the most to the least frequent is O>B>A>AB.

Keywords: ABO, Rhesus (Rh) D blood groups, genotype and phenotypic frequencies, Philippines