Blood Groups A, B, Rh+ are at high risk to COVID-19 infection: Study

An original research conducted by the Department of Research and Department of Blood Transfusion Medicine at a private hospital in Delhi has found that blood groups A, B, and Rh+ are more susceptible to COVID-19 infection whereas O, AB, and Rh- are at lower risk of COVID-19 infection. It has also been found that there is no association between blood groups and susceptibility to the severity of disease as well as mortality.

This research has been published in the November 21 edition of Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology"

According to a Consultant at the Department of Research at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Rashmi Rana, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a new virus, and it is unclear whether blood groups have any impact on COVID-19 risk or progression. Therefore, we investigated the association of ABO and Rh blood group with COVID-19 susceptibility, prognosis, recovery time, and mortality in this study."

The study was conducted on a total of 2,586 COVID-19 positive patients tested through real-time PCR who were admitted at SGRH from April 8, 2020, to October 4, 2020.

According to Dr Vivek Ranjan, Co-author and Chairperson of Department of Blood Transfusion at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, "We also found that male patients of blood group B are more prone to Covid-19 than the female patients with blood group B and Blood Group AB was observed to be more susceptible to infection in patients with age group above 60 years."

Our study also found that Blood Group A and Rh+ types are associated with a decrease in the recovery period, whereas Blood Group O and Rh- are associated with an increase in the recovery period. However, the ABO and/or Rh blood groups may not be responsible for this association, as these may indicate an unexplored underlying factor like co-morbidity. Therefore, larger, multicenter, and prospective studies are needed to ascertain the relationship between blood groups and SARS-COV-2.

( With inputs from ANI )

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