For those not aware, phlebotomy is the practice of taking blood from a person, more than likely to be tested at some point. Phlebotomists are medical health professionals who are qualified in this task, and are experts at withdrawing blood. However, a lot of people are confused as to why blood would ever need to be taken; surely keeping as much of our blood inside us is the best plan of action? Well, not always. Today we would like to look at a few of the reasons why blood is often taken.
One of the most common reasons to take blood is to examine it for medical purposes. There are many reasons to take blood for medical purposes, as there are many possible issues that a doctor is looking for. Some blood tests may require you to fast for 8-12 hours proceeding. You may also have to stop taking certain medication. However, if this is the case then your doctor will inform you accordingly.
As well as looking for virus’s or diseases blood tests can help doctors determine whether a certain organ is functioning properly or not. These tests can include:
- Blood Cholesterol Test
- Blood Culture
- Blood Gases Test
- Blood Glucose (Blood Sugar) Tests
- Blood Typing
- Cancer Blood Tests
- Chromosome Testing (Karyotyping)
- Coagulation Tests And International Normalised Ratio (Inr)
- C-Reactive Protein (Crp) Test
- Electrolyte Test
- Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (Esr)
- Full Blood Count (Fbc)
- Genetic Testing And Screening
- Liver Function Test
- Thyroid Function Test
As well as to determine your medical condition, blood tests can be taken for research purposes. Obviously, medicine is a huge part of these blood tests. Your sample can be used to see how effective a new medicine is, for example.
As well as this, blood can often be taken for sports research purposes. It is becoming more and more common for top level sports people and teams to test their teams to see how they react to certain diet and training protocols, in order to squeeze every last bit of performance out of them.
In the past we have heard of previous students of Medicare going on to fulfil a number of these roles. To find out more about any of the services we offer just give us a call on 0203 372 4174 or contact us here.
