The Distributions of Duffy Antigens and Phenotypes Among Blood Donors in King Abdulaziz Medical City-Western Region, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Amr J Halawani,1 Sahal A Jamalallail,2 Abdullah M Algarni,2 Mohammad H Alsomali,2 Sulaiman S Alabsi,2 Ammar M Sahl,2 Afnan T Kumosani,2 Saja M Asali,2 Alaa H Qudayr,2 Banan A Mallah,2 Ahmed A Mari,2 Hiam O Mulla,3– 5 Ali H Alhussain Snr,6 Sarah M Alahwal,2 Faisal D Alomari2 1Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 2King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 3College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 4King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 5Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 6King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, AlAhsa, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Amr J Halawani, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, Email [email protected]: The Duffy (FY) is considered one of the clinically significant blood group systems. Anti-Fya and anti-Fyb can cause hemolytic transfusion reactions and hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. This study investigated the prevalence of FY antigens and phenotypes in Saudi Arabian and non-Saudi Arabian blood donors.Methods: A total of 25611 blood donors were enrolled in this study from January 2020 to May 2024, at the blood bank center of King Abdulaziz Medical City-Western Region (KAMC-WR), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Serotyping was conducted to identify Fya and Fyb antigens as well as the four FY phenotypes using a solid phase technique.Results: The majority of the blood donors were Saudi Arabians (n = 21,496, 83.93%), while the remaining donors were non-Saudis (n = 4115, 16.07%). The frequencies of Fya and Fyb among the Saudi Arabian donors were 28.20% and 28.41%, respectively. Conversely, the distributions of the Fya and Fyb antigens among the non-Saudi Arabian donors occurred at 44.88% and 39.83%, respectively. The Fy(a−b−) phenotype was the most common FY phenotypes among the Saudi Arabian and non-Saudi Arabian and were 50.07% and 33.80%, respectively. The incidences of the FY phenotypes were statistically significantly different in Saudis compared to non-Saudis (p < 0.01).Conclusion: The prevalence of the FY antigens and phenotypes is reported among blood donors. The Fy(a−b−) phenotype was the most widespread among Saudis and non-Saudis. It is crucial to include the FY antigens in the transfusion screening panel especially for both blood donors as well as patients especially the transfusion-dependent patients.Keywords: Duffy blood group, Duffy-null, blood donors, immunohematology, Saudi Arabia