HbA1c

WHO has recommended HbA1c as a diagnostic test for Diabetes Mellitus:

“HbA1c can be used as a diagnostic test for diabetes providing that stringent quality assurance tests are in place and assays are standardised to criteria aligned to the international reference values and there are no conditions present which preclude its accurate measurement.”

Patient HbA1c Samples
Fresh EDTA whole blood from individual diabetic patients and healthy volunteers are distributed monthly/bi-monthly. These samples reflect the wide range of HbA1c seen in Diabetic patients, challenging samples from patients with known Hb variants are also distributed to assess current practice. Samples from normal healthy volunteers are distributed to ensure that the concentration near the diagnostic “cut off” of 48 mmol/mol Hb, used for diagnosis of diabetes is achieved. The HbA1c reference target values in the Weqas programme are assigned using IFCC secondary reference methods in an IFCC network laboratory.

Frequency: Monthly / Bimonthly

Samples per set: 3 x 0.2mL / 2 x 0.2mL (2 samples in bimonthly programme)

Material: Fresh EDTA whole blood