Welcome back to 30 Days of ASCP: Make It Make Sense Series, because once you get it, you never forget it. Day 1/30: Today is World AIDS Day, so let’s break down how someone is actually diagnosed with AIDS from the laboratory perspective. A person is first screened for HIV using a 4th-generation antigen/antibody test, which detects HIV-1, HIV-2, and the p24 antigen. If that test is positive, we move to an HIV-1/HIV-2 differentiation assay to determine which virus is present. If that result comes

Day 9 🧪 Welcome back to 30 Days of ASCP: Make It Make Sense, because once you get it, you never forget it. Elution and adsorption are both used to separate antibodies from red blood cells, but they serve different purposes. Elution is used when an antibody is already attached to the patient’s red cells; we strip it off to identify what that antibody is, which is especially important in cases like positive DATs or hemolytic disease of the newborn. Adsorption is used when antibodies are free in t

Day 6🧪Welcome back to 30 Days of ASCP: Make It Make Sense because once you get it, you never forget it. A left shift simply means the bone marrow is pushing out younger neutrophils to meet a high demand, usually from infection, inflammation, or stress. When bands, metas, and even myelocytes start showing up in circulation, that’s your clue the marrow is working overtime. The more immature the cells, the stronger the response. Comment PASS to pass the ASCP exam. 🧪🔬 | Marilyn Claire