Purpose: To detect the frequency of hematological changes in Covid-19 patients at king Abdul Aziz hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; to compare the outcome of patients with or without hematological changes. Methods: This retrospective study included 537 patients. They were 0.6% asymptomatic, 22.9% mild to moderate, 31.1% severe, and 45.4% critical. According to the hematological results, patients were divided into normal, high, and low groups. Results: Anemia was found in 50.9%, 26%, 21.4%, and 1.7% of critical, mild to moderate, severe, and asymptomatic cases, respectively.  Polycythemia was detected in 16.7% and 83.3% of mild to moderate and critical cases, respectively. Thrombocytopenia was found in 44.4%, 30%, 25.6% of critical, mild to moderate and severe cases, respectively. Neutropenia was found in 40.9%, 36.4%, and 22.7% of critical, mild to moderate and severe cases. Neutrophilia was found in 58.2%, 24.1%, and 17.7% of critical, severe, and mild to moderate cases. Lymphopenia was found in 51%, 29.3%, 19.4%, and .3%. of critical, severe, mild to moderate and asymptomatic patients. Monocytopenia was found in 55%, 30%, and 15% of critical, severe, and mild to moderate cases, respectively. Monocytosis was found in 59.3%, 25.4%, and 15.3% of critical, mild to moderate, and severe cases.  The risk of death was 15.2, 2.4, 2.6, 1.9, 2.9, 2.1, 2.1 times higher in those with polycythemia, neutrophilia, monocytosis, lymphopenia, monocytopenia, diabetes, and age over 65, respectively. Conclusion: Neutrophilia, monocytosis, lymphopenia, monocytopenia, and polycythemia, diabetic patients, and age over 65 are independent predictors for death.

Purpose: to assess the frequency of ABO and Rh blood groups among Saudi and non-Saudi healthy blood donors and to compare between them. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted; in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia. It included 15,365 participants of 44 nationalities who have attended the blood bank of King Abdul Aziz Hospital. The collected data were age, sex, nationality, ABO, and Rhesus blood groups.  Results: 46.8 % of the participants were O, 28.8 % A, 19.5 % B, and 4.9% AB. The nationalities with a higher frequency of blood group O were Saudi, Mauritanian, Yemeni, Thai, Malian, Sudanese, Jordanian, Indian, Moroccan, Somali, Malaysian, Indonesian, Myanmar, Nigerian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Algerian, Djibouti, Burkinabe, Eritrean, Ghanaian, Bahraini, Bosnian, Canadian, Gambian, Iraqi, and Sri Lankan. Those with a higher frequency of blood group A were Turkish, Palestinian, Syrian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Afghan, Chadian, French, Tunisian, Cameroonian, Ethiopian, and British.  Those with a higher frequency of B were Nigerien, American, Nepalese, and two nationalities with higher AB frequency Filipino and Chinese. 91.6 % of all populations were Rh-positive, and 8.4% were Rh-negative. The Saudi participants were like some nationalities and differed from others. Conclusion:  In Makkah city, the higher frequency of ABO blood group in Saudi and non -Saudi people is O followed by A, then B, and AB.  The Rh-positive is predominant, and 8.4% of the participants are negative. The ABO and Rh blood groups' identifications are essential for providing suitable blood storage for individuals in need.

Background: Thalassemia and hemoglobinopathies have significant complications on the children's health. Also, they  have a higher cost for treatment. The prevalence of these diseases differs from one area to another in Saudi Arabia. Aims: To detect the different hemoglobin abnormality and their frequency in the premarital population in Makkah city.  Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, which included 473 subjects who attended the premarital screening tests at the maternity and children Hospital laboratory and Heraa hospital. We were collected the data of the complete blood count, hemoglobin electrophoresis, and iron profile   from the participants. The statistical analysis was performed by SPSS program version 20. Results: 74.8% of the participants were normal, 9.3% had iron deficiency anemia (IDA), 6.3%  were suspected to be alpha thalassemia trait, 3.4%  had sickle cell trait, 3% were polycythemia, 1.5%  had hereditary persistence fetal hemoglobin (HPFH), 1.1% were IDA with thalassemia trait, 0.4% were beta thalassemia trait, 0.2% had hemoglobin E trait. Conclusion: thalassemia trait and hemoglobinopathies are present in the premarital  population in Makkah city at a low prevalence. The highest frequency  was for the alpha thalassemia trait, then sickle cell trait, then HPFH, then beta-thalassemia trait, and lastly, hemoglobin E trait. IDA is present at a high frequency. Education to the population is essential to decrease the prevalence of these disorders.