Frequency Distribution of Blood Groups ABO, MN and Rh Factor in Philippine Cosmopolitan, Regional and the National Populations

  • Ruth Marian S. Guzman
  • Ricardo Noel R. Gervasio
  • Ian Kendrich C. Fontanilla
  • Ernelea P. Cao

Abstract

Frequency distribution of blood groups is important as it is used in modern medicine, genetic research, anthropology, and tracing ancestral relations of humans. Blood groups include the ABO, Rh and the MN red cell antigens. The frequency distribution of these three blood groups were obtained and assessed for differences from three populations: (1) a regional population from the town of Cabagan located in Isabela province; (2) a cosmopolitan population from the University of the Philippines’ roster of students; and (3) the national population’s data obtained from blood banks all over the Philippines. This study sought to determine the frequency distribution of ABO, MN, and Rh factor blood groups to establish whether there exist differences in distribution among the three population categories. Standard blood agglutination sampling was conducted in these populations to determine blood types. Chi-square tests on the genetic frequencies reveal that there is no significant difference in the distribution of blood groups ABO and Rh. The blood group MN, however, displayed twice as many M blood type in the regional population than in the cosmopolitan population. This suggests a localized segregation of alleles responsible for the MN blood type within distinct populations in the Philippines. Computation of the allelic frequencies also revealed that both populations are not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium based on the distribution of the different MN blood types.

Published
2010-09-29
Issue
Vol 21 No 2 (2009)
Section
Articles

Keywords

genetic frequencies, ABO, MN, Rh factor, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities at the institute where the work has been carried out; that, if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors agree to the automatic transfer of the copyright to the publisher; that the manuscript will not be published elsewhere in any language without the consent of the copyright holders; that written permission of the copyright holder is obtained by the authors for material used from other copyrighted sources; and that any costs associated with obtaining this permission are the authors’ responsibility.