Genetic background of Diego blood group in Saudi Arabia

Multiply-transfused patients are prevalent in Jazan region, Saudi Arabia. Alloimmunization may occur in case of red cell incompatibility. Therefore, extensive serotyping for other blood groups is essential. Two alleles of the Diego (DI) blood group system, DI*A and DI*B encode the main DI antigens Di(a + b–) and Di(a–b+), respectively. Anti-Di a and anti-Di b can be involved in transfusion reactions and pregnancy issues. This study aimed to investigate the allele and genotype frequencies of the DI blood groups in Jazan Province of Saudi Arabia. One-hundred-fifty samples were collected from Saudi blood donors in Jazan Province. DNA was extracted and sequence-specific primers were designed to amplify the SNV region (rs2285644), which distinguishes the DI*A allele from the DI*B allele. The resulting PCR amplicons were sequenced. The frequency of DI*B alleles was 100 %, while the DI*A allele was not observed. Therefore, the only detected genotype was DI*B/DI*B at 100 %. This study reported the allele and genotype frequencies of the DI blood group system in Saudi Arabia. This study may help establish a national database for blood groups in Jazan region. Moreover, it may help to reduce the risk of alloimmunization by providing matching blood units.