PREVALENCE OF SUBGROUP A2 AMONG ABO BLOOD GROUP INDIVIDUALS IN IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES TEACHING HOSPITAL COMPLEX, AKURE, ONDO STATE

The ABO and Rh blood group system remain the most important blood group systems and the classical immunogenetic indicators. A blood group is further divided into A1, A2 and other weaker A groups. A good knowledge of the reality of blood group A2 and A2B can provide a better understanding for troubleshooting while performing compatibility testing. The study was carried out to ascertain the prevalence of subgroup A2 among ABO blood group individuals in University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital Complex, Akure. The study was a cross-sectional prevalence study among individuals who visit the hospital. A total of 200 individuals who met the inclusion criteria and consented to the study were recruited and blood samples were aseptically collected into ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) bottles. ABO and Rhesus status were determined by cell and serum grouping method while subgroup A1 was determined by agglutination method. Presence of agglutination indicates presence of A1 antigen or absence of A2 antigen on the red cell. Data were analysed using statistical package for social science (SPSS). The results showed that blood group O had the highest prevalence (44.5%), followed by group A (27.0%), group B (20.5%) and group AB had he least prevalence (8.0%). Among the group A, A1 dominated with 94.4% while subgroup A2 made up 5.6%. Also, among AB group, A1B dominated with 87.5% while A2B made up 12.5%. Among the A1 subgroup, 96.1% were Rhesus positive while 3.9% were Rhesus negative while the A2 were all Rhesus positive. The association between gender and ABO blood group as well as between gender and blood group A subgroups were found to be statistically not significant(p >0.05). based on the findings of this study, A1 is more prevalent than A2 in our locality