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Background: Little information is available on the influence of the storage conditions on the results of hemoglobin A2 (HbA2) and F (HbF) testing.
Methods: The stability of HbA2 and HbF was assessed on stored whole blood samples tested immediately after collection and after one week of storage at either + 4 °C or - 80 °C.
Results: An excellent correlation was observed between fresh specimens and those stored at either + 4 °C (HbA2: r = 0.994; p <0.001 and HbF: r = 0.999; p <0.001) or - 80 °C (HbA2: r = 0.995; p <0.001 and HbF: r = 0.999; p <0.001). The mean biases from the reference fresh specimens were very modest for samples stored at + 4 °C (HbA2: -0.06 %; HbF: 0.02 %;) and - 80 °C (HbA2: - 0.06 %; HbF: 0.05 %).
Conclusions:: The results of our investigation demonstrate that whole blood specimens for HbA2 and HbF testing can be stored at + 4 °C or - 80 °C for up to one week.
DOI: Clin. Lab. 2011;57:777-780
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