Gene Frequencies of ABO and Rh(D) Blood Group Alleles in Five Yemeni Provinces

This study aims to determine the distribution pattern and gene frequency of the ABO and Rh(D) blood groups in five Yemeni Provinces and compare it with other studies in the world. Methods: The study comprises a total of 1113 healthy blood donors donating in blood banks, Hospitals, primary health centers situated in five Yemeni Provinces, namely Abyan, Al Jawf, Al Hudaydah, Amran and Lahij. ABO and Rh(D) blood groups were determined by standard methods. Calculations for allelic frequency were based on Hardy Weinberg equilibrium. Results: The O blood group was highly distributed: (78.79% (0.88714), 64.62% (0.80177), 63.73% (0.79895) and 60.4% (0.7773) in Al Jawf, Lahij, Al Hudaydah and Abyan, respectively). However, the lowest frequency 53.58% (0.73326) was in Amran, followed by the A blood group which was higher in Amran 34.25% (0.26375). The lowest frequency was in Al Jawf 23.05% (0.08358). The B blood group was highly distributed 10.29% (0.0640) in Abyan and the lowest frequency 5.07 % (0.02846) was in Al Jawf. The AB blood group had also a low frequency. The Rh-positive blood group frequencies were 96.32% O A B AB, and O A B among Rh negative donors. Al Jawf Province population had a phenotypic distribution of the Rh-positive blood group of 95.93%. The Rh(D) and d allelic frequency was found to be 0.79826. Abyan, Al Hudaydah, Lahij and Amran had Phenotypic distribution and allelic frequencies of the Rh-positive blood group of 95.35% (0.74213), 94.58% (0.76719), 93.47% (0.74446) and 91.58% (0.70054) respectively. Conclusion: The frequency of ABO blood groups in both Rh positive and negative subjects among the five Yemeni Provinces was O A B AB.