Haemoglobinopathy Screening

Screening for thalassaemia and variant haemoglobins (such as Sickle haemoglobin) is performed within the Haematology laboratory at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital for all Trust sites and GP's. Patients may require haemoglobinopathy testing as part of ante-natal screening or pre-operative assessment.

Requests should be made on a Haematology request form and sent with a 3ml EDTA sample for analysis. We are unable to reflex haemoglobinopathy screening on suspected full blood counts results without a request. Ante-natal requests should be accompanied with a completed Family Origin Questionnaire.

Occasionally samples are referred to Central Middlesex Hospital, London or Oxford Regional Genetics Laboratory, Churchill Hospital, Oxford for confirmation of new or unusual variants or for genotyping of haemoglobin disorders respectively.

For further information or advice please contact the laboratory on extension 40198 or check the Test Database