Rare blood group surveillance among medical undergraduates: Enhancing education, awareness, and donor database development to meet patient needs

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Maintaining a steady supply of blood, especially rare blood groups, is a challenge for any blood center. This study aimed to assess the knowledge about blood groups and blood donation among undergraduate medical students. This study also analyzed the prevalence of rare blood groups, such as Bombay and Rh subgroups, such as C, c, E, e, and K, among undergraduate medical students for donor database formation for urgent blood requirements. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the Department of Transfusion Medicine of a tertiary care academic center from July 2024 to September 2024 for 3 months. The basic demographic details such as age, sex, weight, height, blood group, contact address and phone number, willingness to donate blood when required, and knowledge about the blood groups, were collected by circulating Google Forms. The blood grouping and testing for Rh subgroup minor antigens were done and further confirmed in the blood center by the test tube method. RESULTS: A total of 580 donors expressed willingness to donate blood and were enrolled into the undergraduate medical student donor database. The distribution of Rh positive among the study population was 92.2%, and the rest were Rh negative. About 45 students D-negative undergraduate medical students were identified who underwent further extended phenotyping for Rh subgroup antigens, such as C, c, E, e, and Kell antigens. The prevalence of C was 11%, E and Kell was 2.2%, whereas the prevalence of e and c was 100%. No individuals with the Bombay blood group were identified among the participants in the study group. CONCLUSION: Majority of the medical students were aware of blood groups and were willing for voluntary blood donation. The knowledge of the prevalence of blood groups and minor antigens in undergraduate medical students facilitates a steady and reliable donor pool readily available in emergencies and can support the entire blood supply chain in scarcities and emergencies.