Fingerprints as an Alternative Method to Determine ABO and Rh Blood Groups

Introduction: Blood grouping is conventionally done with invasive method by taking blood samples. The objective of this study is to determine blood group with uninvasive procedure by taking fingerprints of the participants and know the associations between their fingerprints and blood groups. Methods: Seven hundred participants of both genders with no any age limitation from Manipal Teaching Hospital and Manipal College of Medical Sciences were randomly selected. The blood grouping was done by cross reacting blood sample with the antibodies. The fingerprints were taken with the help of stamp pad imprinting the finger ridges over A4 size white papers. The loop, whorl and arch patterns were studied. Results: O+ve blood group 224 (32%) was most prevalent among 700 participants. The loop pattern was highly distributed 3708 (53%) in all blood groups except in A-ve blood group with highest distribution of whorl 20 (40%). The mean comparisons of specific fingerprint in total and also in individual fingers with different ABO and ABO-Rh blood groups showed no any statistical association with P>0.05. However, the loop distribution in individual finger was highest in right middle finger (M) of B-ve blood group 5 (10%). The whorl distribution in individual finger was highest in right index (I), left thumb (T) and left ring (R) fingers of AB+ve blood group 20 (5.5% each). Similarly, the arch distribution was highest in right index fingers of A-ve blood group 3 (6%). Conclusions: The mean comparison of different fingerprints with ABO and Rh blood groups showed no significant statistical association concluding fingerprints cannot be used for blood grouping. Keywords: arch; blood group; fingerprints; loop; whorl