The Department of Research and Department of Blood Transfusion Medicine conducted research at a private hospital in Delhi which found that blood group A, B, and Rh+ are more susceptible to coronavirus infection whereas O, AB, and Rh- are at lower risk of COVID-19 infection.
In the study, it has also been found that there is no connection between blood groups and susceptibility to the severity of disease as well as mortality. The results of the study have been published in the November 21 edition of Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology”
According to an Adviser at the Department of Research at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Rashmi Rana, severe acute respiratory pattern coronavirus 2 is a new contagion, and it’s unclear whether blood groups have any impact on COVID-19 threat or progression. Thus, we delved the association of ABO and Rh blood group with COVID-19 vulnerability, prognostic, recovery time, and mortality in this study.”
The study was conducted on an aggregate of COVID-19 positive cases 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.
