DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2015.v03i03.053

Pages: 1309-1311

Whole blood transfusions have continuously been done in medical hospitals as the major line of emergency recovery on the African continent as a result of limited infrastructure despite of the fact that the general blood group status is poorly understood. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalent blood groups and their associated rhesus factor. This was a cross sectional study conducted for a period of two months at Kampala International University Teaching Hospital involving a total of 47 undergraduate students, blood was picked by pricking the index finger and placed on a white tile from which the antigens were added to it. The study revealed that majority (53.2%) of the population had blood group O with the greatest prevalence being in the male population and blood group B was the second prevalent blood group in this study. This would probably be due to the establishment of endemic stability with malaria infections in the community. This would be due to genetic selection thus favoring the proliferation of the B and O blood groups as they appear to offer a mutuality protective advantage against plasmodium parasites. The major associated Rhesus factor were of O+ (53.2%) and B+ (21.3%) which showed that there was a significant downward shift in the levels of the Rhesus antigen. Blood group O was the most prevalent probably due to its evolutionary advantage in the region. Phenotypic expression need to be investigated further for the development of a strong hematological team in various rural communities.