Abstract :
Background: D antigen discovered in the year 1939 was known to be the most immunogenic antigen in the complex
Rh blood group system. This antigen has a lot of phenotypic variation due to gene polymorphism and genetic
heterogeneity. We have assessed the incidence of Rh negative and weak D blood groups in the North Eastern Lucknow
region of Uttar Pradesh, specially the population visiting the Era’s Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Lucknow,
Uttar Pradesh. Methods: Rh blood group and typing of all donors and patients in blood transfusion centre under the
Department of Pathology, ELMC&H, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, was analyzed for aperiod of 10 years from Jan 2000 to
Jan 2010. There were a total of 1086 subjects enrolled in this study. Results: Out Of the Total 1086 All Came Out To
Be Negative on Repeating the Tests for Weak D-Antigen Testing. Overall Rh negative was seen to be present in higher
frequency in males than in females a negative group was more common in males while rest other groups had a slight
female preponderance. Conclusion: Our study concluded that the incidence of Rh negative blood group was 34.5% of
the population screened for presence of Du
antigen in our blood bank.
Keyword :
D U Antigen, Rh blood group, phenotypic variation, gene polymorphism, genetic heterogeneity.