Diagnostic value of zinc protoporphyrin in a screening strategy for alpha-thalassemia.

The definitive diagnosis of alpha-thalassemia involves detection of a deletion of one or more alpha-globin that encode the alpha-chains of Hb (hemoglobin). To determine whether DNA analysis is indicated, screening tests such as mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and Hb typing are employed. alpha-Thalassemia often correlates with normal or low HbA2 values.