Abstract

A study on the prevalence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in blood donors and in jaundiced neonates was carried out. 286 subjects consisting of 200 blood donors and 86 jaundiced neonates were screened for G6PD. Presence of G6PD and bilirubin levels (total and conjugated) were determined in all the subjects. G6PD was determined using two standard methods; methaemoglobin reduction and fluorescent spots test. Total and conjugated bilirubin levels were also determined in neonates using Jendrassik and Groff method. Out of the 200 blood donors tested for G6PD, 39 (19.5%) were G6PD deficient and 41 (47.7%) out of 86 jaundiced neonates were G6PD deficient. There is a close association between the two methods used for determining G6PD in blood donors and jaundiced neonates as there was no significance difference “P < 0.05” between the results obtained from the two methods. With G6PD deficiency prevalence rate of 19.5% (39) in the blood donors, and the attendant reduced life span of red blood cells, this study therefore reveals the necessity of including G6PD testing in the blood donors screening criteria in the study area. Glucose-6-Phosphate Deficiency is also revealed as a major cause of haemolytic episode in neonates in the area.

Key words: G6PD deficiency, prevalence, jaundiced neonates, blood donors.