Blood Groups, Serum Genetic Factors, and Hemoglobins in New Hebrides Islanders

A sample of 200 New Hebrides Islanders has been tested for 13 blood group systems and for haptoglobin, transferrin, and Gm types. The population is characterized by a high B gene frequency, high N, and S associated only with N. The Rh results show very high R1 with one example of the genotype r′r′. This is the fourth example we have encountered in Polynesians and Melanesians in whom the rr genotype has never been recorded. The Lewis groups show the consistently high Le(a‐b‐) frequency found in Southwest Pacific Island Populations. As in the Solomon Islanders, the absence of abnormal hemoglobins is noted in relationship to a high malaria incidence.