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Introduction: The prevalence of Bombay (Oh Phenotype) is not precisely known in Rajasthan state. Because of the fact that Bombay blood group is clinically significant, we decided to conduct a study at our centre to determine the prevalence of Bombay blood group among blood donor population in Western Rajasthan. Methodology: This blood bank based prospective study was carried out amongst the blood donors over a period of 11 months, i.e., from February 2019 to December 2019. Total 30,000 donor samples were screened for ABO-RhD blood grouping and antibody screening. Auto control, indirect antiglobulin test (IAT) and Bombay blood group (Anti-H lectin) tests were run on all the O blood group samples showing agglutination with O reagent cells (in reverse grouping). Donors negative on Anti-H testing were tested for saliva A, B and H antigens and interpreted. Results: Out of the total 30,000 donors, the maximum number of donors had blood group B+ (32.76%), followed by O+ (29.9%), A+ (20.41%), AB+ (8.06%), B- (3.11), O- (3.02%), A- (1.93%) and AB- (0.8%). Prevalence of Bombay blood group among study population was calculated to be 0.003%. Conclusion: Bombay phenotype is a rare blood group but not uncommon. If serum grouping is not performed, it is misdiagnosed as blood group O. Therefore both forward and reverse blood grouping should be done on 100% samples. Keywords: Bombay, Anti-H lectin, Serum grouping, Blood donors.

Introduction: With a population of 1.3 billion people and a frequency of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (0.17-0.29%), Hepatitis B Virus (3-4%), and Hepatitis C Virus (0.09-15%) in the general population, maintaining blood safety is a difficult undertaking in India. The fourth-generation Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), which can be used in place of Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAT) testing in situations with limited resources, has been recommended as the minimal HIV test to increase the safety of blood transfusions. Aim: To compare the fourth generation ELISA with NAT in the screening of transfusion transmissible HIV infection in blood donors. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Blood Centre, Department of Immuno-Haematology and Transfusion Medicine, Sardar Patel Medical College and Associated Groups of Hospitals, in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. A total of 2000 voluntary and replacement blood donors were recruited consecutively between January 2020 to December 2021 (two years), and their samples were screened using fourthgeneration ELISA. All of these samples were sent to AIIMS in Jodhpur for NAT to identify HIV RNA, HCV RNA and HBV DNA. Results: In this study, when the fourth generation ELISA negative samples were subjected to NAT, no sample was found to be reactive for HIV in NAT, i.e. there was no NAT yield for HIV. Conclusion: As a bare minimum, the fourth-generation ELISA test should be used for blood donor screening and can be considered a cost-effective and reliable test in a resource limited setting. However, additional tests can be advocated for an additional layer of blood safety.

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Introduction: It is important to know the frequencies of the various antigens to predict the availability of blood units for alloimmunized patients. Because of the fact that there is always a chance of diversity in phenotype pattern of a donor population, we decided to conduct a study on antigen phenotyping of regular blood donors. Methodology: This blood bank based cross-sectional analytical study was carried out amongst 500 voluntary blood donors over a period of 8 months, i.e., from April, 2019 to November, 2019. Samples from all these donors were subjected to extended phenotyping (C, c, E, e, K, M, N, S, Jka, Jkb, Fya, Fyb, Lea and Leb). Results: In present study, we observed the percentage frequencies of C, c, E, e, K, M, N, S, P1, Lea, Leb, Jka, Jkb, Fya and Fyb antigens as 75.6%, 53.2%, 18.4%, 97.75%, 3.8%, 82.4%, 58.4%, 43.8%, 66.2%, 16.8%, 52.6%, 80.0%, 67.6%, 79.4% and 54.6% respectively. Conclusion: Outcomes of such studies can be used to formulate a rare blood group donor registry and compatible blood can be provided to the patients (especially those requiring multiple transfusions). Keywords: Antigens, Phenotyping, Blood donors.