Frequency of ABO and Rh(D) blood groups in five governorates in Gaza-strip

Objective: To document the frequency of ABO and Rh(D) blood groups in five regions in Gaza-Strip. Methodology: ABO and Rh (D) typing was carried out over a period of three months, included 14,916 (13,691 retrospective and 1,225 prospective) subjects from both genders, collected from records of hospitals and students of Laboratory Medicine Department at Al-Azhar University - Gaza, respectively. A finger prick blood samples (1,225) from both genders were tested for ABO and Rh (D) blood groups by routine slide method. Results: The blood group "O" was the predominant (38.1%) in both Rh positive and negative subjects among the five governorates in Gaza-Strip, except in Gaza city and Rafah where the blood Group-A was the highest (11.4%, 4.5%) respectively. The percentage of Rh (D) positive and negative subjects was (83.3%) and (10.7%) respectively. Conclusion: The frequency of ABO blood groups in both Rh positive and negative subjects among the five governorates in Gaza-Strip was O>A>B>AB, except in Rafah and Gaza city governorates where the blood group A was the commonest among Rh positive subjects.