Haptoglobin (Hp) phenotyping was carried out on 535 healthy blood donors, 467 patients hospitalized in Malta and on 53 hospital patients from Gozo. The frequencies in the three groups were compared. No statistical differences were observed between these three groups.
Only 7·5 per cent of cord blood samples could be phenotyped.
Hp phenotyping can be carried out with a high degree of confidence after the early post-natal period and independently of the physical state of the subject.
The frequency of the Hp phenotypes in the Maltese population fits well within the range of other European populations.
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