Haemoglobinopathy Screen

Assay	Haemoglobinopathy Screen
Key Words	Haemoglobinopathy, Sickle Cell Anaemia, Thalassaemia, Antenatal
Specimen Collection	3.4ml EDTA (Red lid). 1.3ml EDTA for paediatric (Red lid). Carried out on FBC specimen. Test can be added on to requests for the duration of storage of routine FBC samples (i.e. up to 3 days from receipt). See below for information on completion of request forms.
Turnaround time	3 working days
Test indications	Suspected variant haemoglobin or thalassaemia, preoperative sickle screening, antenatal screening (Family Origin Questionnaire) as directed by the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme.
Interferences	Haemolysis, clotted samples, anaemia, recent blood transfusion or history of bone marrow transplant.
Reference Range	See table below. Refer to laboratory report for interpretation. Refer to laboratory report for interpretation. Non-antenatal reference ranges established from local population. Antenatal reference ranges defined as per NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme.
Minimum retesting interval	N/A

TEST	AGE / GENDER	RANGE	UNITS
HbF	>9 months	<1.9	%
HbF	Pregnant	≤5.0	%
HbA₂	>9 months	2.4-3.4	%
HbA₂	Pregnant	<3.5	%

Special information for completing FOQ requests

Using Sunquest ICE: When you select “FOQ + FBC” a pop-up box will prompt you to supply additional required information (Maternal family origin, paternal family origin, estimated date of delivery, whether the mother declined screening, gestation in weeks, and whether or not the sample is a booking blood).

Using manual request forms: Please contact the laboratory for any queries.