Most blood
group antigens are glycoproteins and their specificity is mostly determined either by the oligosaccharide (e.g.
Distribution of ABO and Rhesus (Rh) blood
group antigens in male type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Hail region of Saudi Arabia: High incidences of diabetes mellitus in males with B+ blood type.
By now, over 250 blood
group antigens with their corresponding antibodies have been identified and grouped into 29 systems: for example, Kell (With e.g.
Blood
group antigens and platelet surface receptor for binding have long been thought to have some similarity in the genetic arrangement.
(1) This article briefly highlights the role of blood
group antigens (BGAs) as structural red blood cell (RBC) membrane and transport proteins, their association with hemostatic abnormalities, and in the case of antigen suppression or absence (null phenotypes), their relationship to hematological diseases and/or RBC morphological abnormalities.
The presence or absence of other specific blood
group antigens can be important when matching blood for transfusions since some people develop antibodies to non-ABO antigens.
However, there are more than 200 minor blood
group antigens known besides A, B and Rh.
A study conducted in Germany reported the higher incidence of blood
group antigens A and B in patients with atopic diseases (atopic dermatitis, hay fever, allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, and acute urticaria) in comparison with controls (individuals clinically free of allergic conditions and without allergy in the family history) (9).
Although various blood group systems have been described based on different blood
group antigens, in clinical practice, the relevant blood group systems are ABO and Rhesus.
The Duffy blood
group antigens, also called Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC), recently renamed atypical chemokine receptor 1 (ACKR1).
The most common minor blood
group antigens that lead to blood incompatibility between the mother and baby include C, c, E, e, Kell, Duffy, Diego, Kidd, and MNSs antigen systems (3).