Rupinder Kaur Brara*, P. S. Shaijib, Sahil Sehgalc
aDepartment of Pathology, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Sciences, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, bDepartment of Transfusion Medicine, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, cDepartment of Transfusion Medicine, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Sciences, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India
Open Access funded by Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation
Abstract
Objectives: Rhesus (Rh) blood group with variable expression of D antigen is one of the complex systems in immunohematology. Weak D antigen is a phenotype where the D antigen is weakly expressed on red blood cells, and this antigen cannot be detected by routine methods. This study was conducted to determine the frequency of Rh D negativity and weak D antigen among healthy blood donors and to review the clinical significance of weak D antigen pertaining to Rh D‑negative transfusions. Materials and Methods: This cross‑sectional prospective study was conducted in G. B Pant Hospital from January 2016 to June 2017 in which all the blood donors from Port Blair and adjacent islands of Andaman and Nicobar were grouped for Rh D antigen and those who tested negative for the D antigen were further tested for weak D antigen by incubating for 30 min and subsequent addition of anti‑human globulin sera. Results: Out of 6415 donors, 6085 (94.86%) were Rh D positive and 330 (05.14%) were Rh D negative. Among the Rh D‑negative donors, 05 (01.51%) were positive for weak D antigen. The frequency of Rh D negativity was 25.76% in a blood group, 25.15% in B, 07.88% in AB and 41.21% in O blood group phenotype. Conclusion: Although the frequency of weak D antigen is low (01.51%), the strong immunogenicity of Rh D antigen discernates the need for appropriate testing for weak D antigen. This is of particular concern in Rh D‑negative pregnant females as it can produce alloimmunization if accidentally given weak D antigen positive blood.
Keywords: Alloimmunization, Rhesus D negative, Transfusion, Weak D antigen
