Hemoglobin Electrophoresis: MedlinePlus Medical Test

What is hemoglobin electrophoresis?

Hemoglobin is a protein in your purple blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the relaxation of your overall body. There are many various forms of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin electrophoresis is a test that actions the various forms of hemoglobin in the blood. It also appears for irregular forms of hemoglobin.

Standard forms of hemoglobin include:

• Hemoglobin (Hgb) A, the most frequent sort of hemoglobin in healthful grownups
• Hemoglobin (Hgb) F, fetal hemoglobin. This sort of hemoglobin is observed in unborn babies and newborns. HgbF is replaced by HgbA shortly just after beginning.

If amounts of HgbA or HgbF are far too substantial or far too small, it can point out selected forms of anemia.

Abnormal forms of hemoglobin include:

• Hemoglobin (Hgb) S. This sort of hemoglobin is observed in sickle cell disorder. Sickle cell disorder is an inherited disorder that causes the overall body to make rigid, sickle-formed purple blood cells. Healthy purple blood cells are adaptable so they can move simply by way of blood vessels. Sickle cells can get trapped in the blood vessels, leading to severe and serious agony, bacterial infections, and other troubles.
• Hemoglobin (Hgb) C. This sort of hemoglobin does not carry oxygen very well. It can lead to a delicate form of anemia.
• Hemoglobin (Hgb) E. This sort of hemoglobin is largely observed in folks of Southeast Asian descent. People with HgbE normally have no indicators or delicate indicators of anemia.

A hemoglobin electrophoresis test applies an electric powered existing to a blood sample. This separates regular and irregular forms of hemoglobin. Each sort of hemoglobin can then be calculated separately.

Other names: Hb electrophoresis, hemoglobin analysis, hemoglobinopathy analysis, hemoglobin fractionation, Hb ELP, sickle cell screen