Determination of Gender and ABO Blood Group from Dried Saliva

The aim of this study was to determine gender using quinacrine dihydrochloride, to detect the ABO blood group by the absorption inhibition technique from dried saliva, and to assess the secretory status of blood group antigens in saliva. Saliva samples were collected from 100 subjects on a sterile cotton piece and dried at room temperature. For gender determination, quinacrine dihydrochloride staining was performed and observed under a fluorescent microscope. Several studies have used Barr body, Raman spectroscopy, and refractive index of wet saliva for gender determination; however, this is the first study to determine gender from dried saliva using F-bodies. Gender determination from dried saliva had 62% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive predictive value, 72.5% negative predictive value, and accuracy was 81%. ABO blood group determined from dried saliva by the agglutination inhibition method for secretor individuals was matched exactly with ABO blood group determined from intravenous blood by the direct agglutination method. Dried saliva can serve as a useful source for gender and ABO blood group identification in forensic analysis. The method appears reasonably reliable, but further validation under different environmental conditions is recommended.