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Test Code HBEV Hemoglobin Electrophoresis

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Whole Blood

Preferred Specimen: EDTA Lavender Top

Other Acceptable specimens: Not Applicable

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room temperature

3 days

Refrigerated

7 days

Frozen

Not applicable

Collection Instructions

Collect specimen per standard laboratory collection procedures immediately before scheduled dose.

 

Specimen Handling and Transport Instructions

UCMC Onsite Instructions: 

Collect specimen per standard collection procedure immediately before scheduled dose and send to laboratory immediately.

 

UCMC Offsite and UC MedLab Outreach Instructions: 

  • Samples must be sent room temperature at 15-25oC if transporting samples within 2 hours.
  • Refrigerate for longer transport time.

Rejection Criteria

  • Common specimen rejected situations include: incorrect specimen type, insufficient volume, missing or incomplete specimen identifiers, incorrect specimen transport, or specimens outside stability limits. 
  • Specimens that are clotted.

Reference Values

Test

Age

Sex

Reference Range

Hemoglobin A

0 – 1 month

All

4.0 – 50.0%

1 – 2 months

All

11.5 – 74.5%

2 – 3 months

All

36.5 – 89.5%

3 – 4 months

All

61.5 – 94.6%

4 – 6 months

All

76.5 – 99.5%

6 – 12 months

All

86.5 – 99.5%

> 12 months

All

94.5 – 98.0%

Hemoglobin A2

0 – 1 month

All

<1.2%

1  - 12 months

All

0.5 – 3.5%

> 12 months

All

2.0 – 3.5%

Hemoglobin A2 Prime

All

All

Not applicable

Hemoglobin F

0 – 1 month

All

50.0 – 95.0

1 – 2 months

All

25.0 – 85.0

2 – 3 months

All

10.0 – 60.0

3 – 4 months

All

<5.0 or > 35.0

4 – 6 months

All

<20.0%

6 – 12 months

All

<10.0%

> 12 months

All

<2.0%

Hemoglobin S

All

All

0.0

Hemoglobin C

All

All

0.0

Hemoglobin Other

All

All

0.0

Turnaround Time

Turnaround times are relative to the time the specimen is received in the test laboratory. 

 

STAT Turnaround Time: Not available as STAT test

 

Routine Turnaround Time: 48 hours

 

Testing Schedule: Monday – Friday (7am – 3pm), Saturday & Sunday (7am – 9am)

Clinical Indications

Screening and quantitation of hemoglobins A, A2, F and hemoglobin variants by HPLC.

Methodology

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

CPT Codes

83020, 83021

LOINC Codes

TBD

Synonyms/Keyword Search

Hemoglobin evaluation, hemoglobin screening 

Last Review Date

5/30/25

Critical Values

Not applicable

Volume

Preferred Volume: 4.0 mL

Minimum Volume: 0.2 mL

Test Components

Hemoglobin A

Hemoglobin A2

Hemoglobin A2 Prime

Hemoglobin F

Hemoglobin C

Hemoglobin S

Pathologist's interpretation

Additional Information

For confirmation and specific identification of uncommon hemoglobin variants (non-S/non-C), an additional specimen must be submitted to Laboratory Referral Services for sendout to reference laboratory.