Prevalence of Rhesus Negative Gene and Awareness of its Implications

Abstract

To determine the prevalence of the Rhesus negative gene in pregnant women attending antenatal clinics at Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba and to assess the awareness of women to any implications of their blood group, a retrospective study of 1200 women was carried out and a prospective study of 100 women randomly selected from same population at follow up visits to ascertain their awareness of the implication of their Rhesus status. The prevalence of the Rhesus negative gene was 7.5%. Only 5% were aware of the implications of Rhesus status. The prevalence is comparable with previous reports, the use of anti-D immunoglobulin is advised when appropriate.


Key Words: Rhesus negative, genotype anti-D immunoglobulin.


Jnl of Medical Investigation and Practice Vol.2 2001: 11-13