Association of ABO Blood Group System and Anti-Sperm Antibody with Male Infertility

A B S T R A C T Background and Aims: The ABO blood group system is recognized as major and clinically significant blood group. This group is not only important in terms of blood transfusion and organ transplantation, but also has been utilized in genetic, fertility and infertility researches. The objective of the present study was to evaluate a possible relationship between ABO blood group system and ASA with male infertility. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective, case-control study. Our study was carried out on samples referred to Research and Clinical Center for Infertility, Yazd, Iran. ABO blood group, titer of ASA and sperm analysis data of 150 infertile males (case group) and 150 fertile males (control group) was evaluated based on medical records of the patients. Data were then analyzed with SPSS 16 software using t-test and chi-square tests. Results: Our results indicated that there is a significant relationship between male infertility and O blood group (p= 0.02) whereas no significant relationship was observed between O blood group and fertility in the control group (p= 0.08). In both groups the amount of ASA agglutination was statistically significant (p= 0.001) whereas no significant relationship was detected between blood group and ASA in infertile males (p= 0.18). Conclusion: The present study revealed that there is a significant relationship between blood group O and male infertility as well as sperm agglutination and thus the concentration of ASA in infertile males is higher than of fertile males thereby demanding appropriate intervention strategies.