Zulay Layrisse

New Rh phenotype, Dcceieif, found in a Chibcha Indian tribe.

IN the course of serological work on various Chibcha-Indian tribes of Colombia it was found that the blood of 6 out of 113 Ica Indians, inhabitants of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, reacted with anti-D and anti-c sera but failed to react with anti-C, anti-E, and anti-e sera. Further laboratory work carried out at the Caracas Blood Bank as well as in the Blood Group Research Unit of the Lister Institute of London and at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York has demonstrated that the six samples previously mentioned reacted with anti-f and with some anti-e sera as well.

Genetic studies of the new Rh chromosome Dceif (Roi) found in a Chibcha tribe.

A new Rh gene complex Dceif (Roi) is traced in two generations of a family and is found in high frequency in an Indian tribe (Ica) of Chibchan affiliation. It is suggested that the mutation formed among the Indians rather than as an introduction by way of non‐Indian populations. It is also suggested that this chromosome could be present in other Indian tribes, especially in those belonging to the Andean Equatorial linguistic family.