Prevalence of Principal Rh Blood Group Antigens in Blood Donors at the Blood Bank of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Southern India.

Introduction: Rhesus (Rh) antigen was discovered in 1940 by Karl Landsteiner and Wiener. Due to its immunogenicity along with A, B antigens, Rh D antigen testing was made mandatory in pre-transfusion testing. Presently there are more than 50 antigens in Rh blood group system but major ones are D, C, E, c, and e.