The Clinical Hematology Laboratory performs a wide variety of basic testing on whole blood, serum and other body fluids. Routine hematology and coagulation testing is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For Blood Banking, we are just doing blood grouping and is currently part of haematology’s work.
Specific areas include:
Routine hematology testing including complete blood count, blood differential and smear morphology (blood
Routine coagulation testing (PT and PTT)
Body fluid analysis and cell counts.
Pathology
Haematology
Biochemistry
This discipline involves the analysis of cells, blood and other body fluids for their chemical, biochemical and hormonal components. Biochemical tests are most often applied to samples of serum, plasma and urine where levels of specific chemicals are measured. An increase or decrease in any particular component(s) can help to identify a disease process.
Panels of tests can be used to assess the function of major body organs such as the liver, kidneys and heart. Specialized assays are used to measure the levels of various hormones in the blood.
Serology
General Medical Certificates
Serologic tests are blood tests that look for antibodies in the blood. A serology blood test is performed to detect and measure the levels of antibodies as a result of exposure to a particular bacteria or virus. When people are exposed to bacteria or viruses (antigens), their body’s immune system produces specific antibodies against the organism. Antibody levels (antibody titer) help physicians determine whether infection occurred recently or years ago.
Serologic tests have one thing in common. They all focus on proteins made by your immune system. This vital body system helps keep you healthy by destroying foreign invaders that can make you ill. The process for having the test is the same regardless of which technique the laboratory uses during serologic testing.
Microbiology
The investigation of infectious diseases is carried out in microbiology. The scientists working here look for specific bacteria, fungi and parasites that may be causing a patient’s symptoms. The work can involve growing (or culturing) a particular bacteria in an incubator that mimics the perfect environment for the microorganism, then examining the results under the microscope (microscopy). This lab also measures the susceptibility of the bacteria to antibiotics to help decide on treatment.