1.Determining of JK*A and JK*B Allele Frequency Distribution among Muslim Blood Donors from Southern Thailand
Ubonwan Puobon ; Kamphon Intharanut ; Supattra Mitundee ; Oytip Nathalang
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences 2019;26(1):58-65
Background: The Kidd (JK) blood group system is of clinical importance in transfusion
medicine. JK*A and JK*B allele detections are useful in genetic anthropological studies. This study
aimed to determine the frequencies of JK*A and JK*B alleles among Muslim blood donors from
Southern Thailand and to compare how they differ from those of other populations that have been
recently studied.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was used. Totally, 427 samples of dissimilar Thai-
Muslim healthy blood donors living in three southern border provinces were selected via simple
random sampling (aged 17–65 years old) and donors found to be positive for infectious markers
were excluded. All samples were analysed for JK*A and JK*B alleles using PCR-SSP. The Pearson’s
chi-squared and Fisher exact tests were used to compare the JK frequencies among southern Thai-
Muslim with those among other populations previously reported.
Results: A total of 427 donors—315 males and 112 females, with a median age of 29 years
(interquartile range: 18 years)—were analysed. A JK*A/JK*B genotype was the most common, and
the JK*A and JK*B allele frequencies among the southern Thai-Muslims were 55.2% and 44.8%,
respectively. Their frequencies significantly differed from those of the central Thai, Korean,
Japanese, Brazilian–Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Africans and American Natives populations
(P < 0.05). Predicted JK phenotypes were compared with different groups of Malaysians. The
Jk(a+b+) phenotype frequency among southern Thai-Muslims was significantly higher than that of
Malaysian Malays and Indians (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: The JK*A and JK*B allele frequencies in a southern Thai-Muslim population
were determined, which can be applied not only to solve problems in transfusion medicine but also
to provide tools for genetic anthropology and population studies.