Hematology National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Diversity of Blood Group Antigens in Minority Populations is an investigation designed to determine the molecular basis of blood group antigens and the type of antigens. There is a critical need to perform epidemiological studies of Rh, Kell, MNS, Lewis Knops, and Duffy blood group systems in various populations to determine the extent of diversity using DNA-based methods.
Current studies focus mostly on small number of people of Northern European decent.
Approximately 1,000 blood samples will be collected per year in New York City and Sao Paulo, Brazil, areas which are among the most ethnically diverse in the world. HLA Types are used to determine tissue matching for cord blood and marrow transplants. An increase in intracellular magnesium inhibited sickle dehydration in vitro and previous studies have shown that dietary magnesium supplements reduce red blood cell dehydration in a transgenic mouse model for sickle cell disease and in patients with sickle cell disease. Magnesium supplements also reduced the incidence of painful crises in sickle cell patients.