A report on the interlaboratory quantitation of haemoglobin A2 and haemoglobin F.

An interlaboratory trial of the quantitation of Hb A(2) and Hb F has been carried out on two samples of blood by 90 laboratories in the British Isles. The results have been compared with those obtained by four reference laboratories. Overall, the correlation was very poor and indicated that the methods used have to be standardized before interlaboratory values become meaningful. Moreover, in many laboratories the level of Hb A(2) in a patient with proven beta thalassaemia was not reported as being increased.