


If a blood sample is only slightly hemolyzed, proper hemolysis assays and removal of excess hemoglobin or cellular debris might be able to salvage the sample. As such, improving procedures for blood sample analysis can reduce the likelihood of in vitro hemolysis occurring during testing and research. Experimental factors leading to hemolyzed blood samples involve the agar medium used to cultivate cell cultures, the type and concentration of blood sample used in the lab, the period of incubation for the cell cultures, the presence of air or oxygen in the culture environment, and even the placement of cell colonies on culture plates. Teaching clinical staff careful best practices for sample collection and handling can reduce the likelihood of hemolysis when drawing blood from patients or processing blood samples.Ĭlinical research methodology also influences the occurrence of in vitro hemolysis. As such, minimizing the causes of hemolysis in blood samples through optimizing research protocols is essential to increasing experimental accuracy, therapeutic efficacy, and, ultimately, patient safety.Ĭommon causes of in vitro hemolysis include improper specimen collection techniques (site-selection/preparation/methodology of venipuncture in drawing blood samples), as well as mixing, transportation, and processing of blood samples in the lab. While in vivo hemolysis is related to patient pathology, in vitro hemolysis often occurs due to testing procedures or during handling and processing of blood samples. Degrading the viability of samples and skewing the results of analyte detection, hemolysis is the leading cause of sample rejection in testing and research-as many as 20% of Emergency Department samples are contaminated due to hemolysis, and hospital labs often must re-run bloodwork with in vitro hemolysis assay protocols that impede timely and effective treatment for patients. In kind, hemolysis in patient blood samples poses critical risks to effective medical diagnosis and experimental analysis, with any number of lab tests adversely affected by hemolysis. Moreover, hemolysis itself can lead to the buildup of excess hemoglobin in the blood, which can cause jaundice, clotting, heart attacks, and strokes. Lysing of RBCs can arise from several anemias due to infection, immunodeficiencies, or liver failure. Red blood cell lysis can be a cause of disease or a symptom of an underlying biological disorder in a patient. In vivo hemolysis occurring within the body is a serious pathological concern. Hemolysis often presents in patients with symptoms ranging from shortness of breath to chest pain and fatigue establishing a diagnosis of hemolysis in a patient is contingent on performing in vitro hemolysis studies in hospital labs. Whether via natural necrosis at the end of the RBC life cycle or via abnormal breakdown of cellular membranes due to disease or experimental procedure, when hemolysis occurs, the damaged RBCs release hemoglobin and spill their cellular contents into their environment. Hemolysis is the disruption or destruction of red blood cells.
