ABO blood group antigens in saliva - A cross sectional study

Abstract

Blood group antigens are present on red blood cells and in bodily fluids like saliva, making them useful in forensic investigations when blood or tissue samples are unavailable. Therefore, it is of interest to determine the secretory status of A, B, H antigens in saliva to correlate it with blood samples. A prospective, randomized, cross-sectional study of 102 individuals was conducted, with saliva collected using drooling and gauze methods. Blood group was determined using slide agglutination. A strong correlation (Pearson coefficient r = .980**) was observed between ABH antigens in saliva and blood group as well as with dry salivary sample (p = 0.04*). Thus, the feasibility and reliability of identifying ABO blood group antigens in saliva, supporting its potential as a non-invasive alternative for forensic and clinical applications is shown.