Distribution of Abo and Rhesus D blood groups among the Bini ethnic group of Southern Nigeria

Background: ABO and Rhesus (Rh) blood group antigens are hereditary characters and are useful in population genetic studies, in resolving medico-legal issues and more important in planning blood utilization by health care service providers and policy markers. In Nigeria, the prevalence of ABO and Rhesus D blood groups in some tribes appear similar. However, the distribution and frequencies of different blood groups in several communities especially the rural populations of the country have not been determined.Aims: The study is aimed at determining the distribution of ABO and Rhesus D blood groups among a rural Bini ethnic group of Evboesi village in Orhionmwon Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo State, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional studies of six hundred (600) apparently healthy residents of the community aged 18 - 60 years volunteered to participate and were recruited. Venous blood was collected from the subjects and tile agglutination method was performed on each sample for ABO and Rhesus D groupings. Standard commercially produced anti-A, anti-B monoclonal grouping reagents and anti- D sera were used for the tests and performed at room temperature.Results: Data obtained was analyzed using frequency tables. Blood group O was the commonest constituting 56.5% followed by blood group A (26.3%) and B (15%) while blood group AB was the least with distribution of 2.2%. Rhesus D positive and negative blood antigens were 95.7% and 4.3% respectively. The highest distribution of Rhesus D negative was found in blood group O while none was found in AB blood group.Conclusion: The pattern of ABO group and Rhesus D blood antigens among rural Bini ethnic group sampled was similar to some other ethnic groups earlier reported in Nigeria with slight variation in frequency