The ABO Blood Group System and Plasmodium Infection in Iran: A Comprehensive Study

Geographical distribution of ABO blood groups affects by race, ethnicity, migration and some infectious agents, such as Plasmodium species. P. falciparum is the major causative agent of death in malaria that can affect ABO blood group distribution in different populations. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to determine the effect of p. falciparum on ABO blood group distribution in Iran.

The present study was conducted on the database of Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO) in 30 provinces of the country about ABO and Rh blood groups of the people who referred to health centers from June 2011 to August 2012.  

A total number of 2124560 individuals were referred to IBTO in 30 provinces. The highest and lowest rates of O blood group were observed in Sistan & Baluchestan (64.6%) and Lorestan (37.7%), respectively. P. falciparum was the most common species of malaria in Sistan & Baluchestan (53215) and the rarest infection agent in Semnan province (20). The results showed statistically significant relationship (p < 0.05) between prevalence of P. falciparum with O blood group, while this relationship for A blood group was not significant (p > 0.05).

Our results revealed a significant relationship between prevalence of P. falciparum and geographical distribution of ABO blood. There was also found more susceptibility and risk to malaria infection and cerebral malaria in A blood group compared to other groups. In addition, this was the first comprehensive study on the ABO blood group system and Plasmodium infection in Iran.