Objective: To determine the frequency of Blood Group A2 genotype among Group A Pakistani whole blood donors. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion (AFIT), Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jan 2019 to Jan 2020. Methodology: One thousand (1000) healthy and unrelated blood donors were selected. The blood samples were typed for ABO, and those of Blood Groups-A and AB were further subtyped with the help of anti-A1 lectin to categorize them as A1,non-A1, A1B and non-A1B Groups. Next, DNA of non-A1 samples was extracted, and a Polymerase Chain Reaction using sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) for type A2 was performed, followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Results: Among one thousand blood donors, 247(24.7%) were typed as Blood Group-A, 94(9.4%) as AB-Group, 339(33.9%) BGroup and 320(32%) O Group with variable strength of reaction with ABO antisera. A and AB Blood Groups were further subgrouped as A1 202(20.2%), A1B 77(7.7%), non-A1 45(4.5%) and non-A1B 17(1.7%). Anti-A1 antibodies were detected in 6(13.3%) of non-A1 samples. PCR of non-A1 samples showed 32(12.9%) to be genotypically A2, and the remaining 13(5.2%) were not A2 and were not further resolved. Conclusion: Blood Group A2 is not a rare Subgroup in our population. PCR-SSP is a more specific technique than anti-A1 lectin for establishing the Blood Group status of an individual.

Introduction: Blood transfusion is a potentially life-saving procedure that replaces the blood lost either during surgery or after injury. It also serves as a mean of replacing blood in the patients who cannot replenish enough blood for their own body. Donors come from all walks of life with established lifestyle. A detailed questionnaire along with verbal screening and general physical examination should be performed in all blood donors before labeling them unsuitable for donation. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of verbal screening in addition to uniform donor questionnaire as a routine pre-donation protocol for donor selection and deferral. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a regional blood bank in Northern Pakistan over a period of six months from January 2021 to June 2021. The blood donors who were deferred after assessment by uniform donor questionnaire (UDQ), verbal screening and general physical examination were critically analyzed. The causes of deferral were noted. The data was analyzed by using SPSS Version 23. Results: A total of 400 blood donors were deferred during the study period. Their ages ranged from 25 to 40 years with a median age of 29 years. Majority of them were males (97.5%). Among these, 332 were deferred on uniform donor questionnaire, 48 on verbal screening and 20 on general physical examination. Conclusion: Assessment of blood donors by verbal interview as an adjunct to donor questionnaire is very effective in donor selection and deferral process and should be made a mandatory part of pre-donation blood donor selection protocol. Keywords: Transfusion, uniform donor questionnaire, verbal screening