Osmotic fragility Test
Principle:
When
red cells are put in hypotonic solutions, water enters the
cell until equilibrium is achieved. The cell swells
until the internal volume is too great causing cells
to burst (lyse).
Procedure:
series of 14 tubes with NaCl concentrations decreasing
from 1% to 0% are set up.
patient’s blood is then added to each
tube and
allowed to sit at room temp. for 30 minutes
tubes are then centrifuged and amount of hemolysis
is determined