ABSTRACT
Accurate and precise hemoglobin separation and quantitation of HbA[2] and HbF are essential for diagnosis of thalassemia. To evaluate the potential application of cation-exchange chromatography by HbGold IVD in performing hemoglobin A[2] quantificative assay, comparison between this technique and reference method of micro-chromatography was carried out. The blood samples were obtained from individuals who had either thalassemia trait or healthy status [n=321]. Variability of HbA[2] quantitation was quite low; the CVs of within-run between run and interlaboratory studies were:1.8-3.1%, 3.4-6% and 6.6-8.8%, respectively. The results of HbA[2]% quantitated by HbGold analyzer correlated with those given by Helena microchromatogrophy system [r=0.974.p=0.001]. The HbGold was simple, rapid and reproducible. The application of HbGold analyzer for disgnosis of various phenotypes of thalassemia [the ailment which is frequently observed in Iran] is considered. In conclusion the HbA[2] assay of HbGold analyzer could be used for both the quantition of HbA[2] and the presumptive identification of thalassemia