GEOGRAPHIC BLOOD GROUP VARIABILITY IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

To present information concerning geographic variability of the ABO blood group distributions, some facts learned from the records of the National Blood Program are discussed in this paper. Chosen for review are the data pertaining to 141,774 white persons who voluntarily contributed blood to the American Red Cross in 15 cities and 637 outlying communities during the period January 1948 through March 1949. This is one of the largest aggregate samples ever described for a program under standardized technical procedures. The majority of the blood donors consisted of persons in the industrial, clerical and professional classes. Although the 15 regional samples of employed white persons were selected without regard to their meeting statistical requirements, there is adequate reason to believe that the criterion of randomness was satisfied in very appreciable degree. Men predominated numerically, ranging from 65 per cent in Springfield, Mo., to more than 80 per cent in Charlotte,