[Diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies in the clinical laboratory]

This paper describes the methods which are, at present, in common use in clinical laboratories to diagnose haemoglobinopathies. They include simple and more sophisticated techniques of conventional electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, specific screening tests for certain haemoglobins or groups of haemoglobins and ion exchange chromatography. The value and limitations of these methods are discussed along with recent developments.