A comparison has been made of the determination of fetal hemoglobin in human umbilical cord blood by column chromatography and alkali denaturation. A careful study has also been made of the variables that control the accuracy and precision of the methods. Minor modification has led to much improved control of the 1-minute alkali denaturation procedure.

The percentage of fetal hemoglobin in the umiblical cord blood of full term infants has been found to cover a far narrower range than is commonly reported. By chromatography, the average is 85.5 per cent with a range from 79 to 91 per cent that includes more than 95 per cent of normal full term infants. By alkali denaturation, the average is 74.0 per cent with a range from 63 to 87 per cent.

Possible correlations with several clinical parameters have been examined. The highest correlation by both methods of determination occurred in the group of 12 samples from infants with a duration of gestation less than 37 weeks. In this group the linear correlation with weight was greater than 0.6.

The precision and accuracy of the chromatographic method recommend it in the study of such subjects as prematurity, twinning, dysmaturity, intrauterine growth retardation, and infants of diabetic mothers.

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© 1963 by American Society of Hematology, Inc.
1963
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