There are several inherited hemoglobinopathies that can affect the ability of hemoglobin to perform its job normally.
However, hemoglobin electrophoresis is only one of several tests that can detect and characterize abnormal hemoglobins.
Risks and Contraindications
The hemoglobin electrophoresis test is a blood test.
Verywell / JR Bee
The sample can be taken in any facility that performs standard blood drawing, at any time of day.
Typically it is done in a healthcare provider’s office, a lab, or a hospital.
You should bring your insurance card with you when you have the blood test done.
During the Test
The hemoglobin electrophoresis test is done with a standard blood draw.
A tourniquet will be placed on your arm and a technician will feel for a suitable vein.
After blood is drawn, a small bandage or gauze patch will be applied.
You will then be allowed to go home.
After the Test
Complications from a blood draw are extremely unusual.
Keep an eye out for any further bleeding, bruising, or inflammation or infection.
If your test is normal, it may be that that’s all you will hear.
Such testing may include high-pressure liquid chromatography, capillary zone electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, or targeted genetic testing.
The four globin units in a hemoglobin molecule consist of two alpha-like and two beta-like chains.
Each globin unit carries a heme group comprised of a porphyrin ring and an iron ion.
Each hemoglobin molecule can bind four oxygen molecules.
As blood circulates through the lungs, oxygen diffuses into the red blood cells.
In the local environment of the lungs, the oxygen is avidly taken up and bound by hemoglobin molecules.
The oxygen-bearing hemoglobin is then carried out to the tissues.
The oxygen is thus released to the tissues.
Hemoglobin accounts for the color of blood.
Hemoglobin in the veins, having delivered its oxygen to the tissues, becomes more blueish in color.
Normal adult hemoglobin consists of two alpha and two beta globins.
Other types of hemoglobins contain similar globins, often referred to as alpha-like and beta-like globins.
Three distinct kinds of hemoglobin are normally carried by red blood cells during different stages of human development.
These three normal hemoglobins are optimized for their environment.
These three normal human hemoglobins are characterized by different globins.
Normal adult hemoglobin (called hemoglobin A) consists of two alpha and two beta globins.
Hemoglobin A2 consists of two alpha and two delta globins.
Fetal hemoglobin (hemoglobin F) contains two alpha and two gamma (beta-like) globins.
The abnormal hemoglobins resulting from these mutations are called hemoglobinopathies.
Over 1,000 kinds of hemoglobinopathies have been characterized so far.
The majority of these are of minor significance and do not appear to cause clinical problems.
However, several hemoglobinopathies do produce disease.
People with homozygous forms of hemoglobinopathy tend to have more severe clinical disease.
The misshapen red cells can cause occlusion of blood vessels.
Other kinds of structural hemoglobinopathies can cause hemolytic anemia.
Yet other structural abnormalities can change the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen.
People with thalassemia can also suffer from iron overload and an increased risk of infections.
Most people with hemoglobin traits do not require any specific treatment.
People with these conditions may experience anemia, enlarged spleens, and frequent infections.
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