Haptoglobin (HP) Test: MedlinePlus Medical Test

What is a haptoglobin (HP) examination?

This examination steps the total of haptoglobin in the blood. Haptoglobin is a protein manufactured by your liver. It attaches to a specific variety of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein in your purple blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the relaxation of your system. Most hemoglobin is positioned inside purple blood cells, but compact amounts flow into in the bloodstream. Haptoglobin binds to hemoglobin in the bloodstream. Jointly, the two proteins are regarded as the haptoglobin-hemoglobin intricate. This intricate is immediately cleared from the bloodstream and taken off from the system by your liver.

When purple blood cells are damaged, they launch far more hemoglobin into the bloodstream. That means far more of the haptoglobin-hemoglobin intricate will be cleared from the system. The haptoglobin may depart the system faster than the liver can make it. This leads to your haptoglobin blood degrees to drop. If your haptoglobin degrees are also lower, it may be a sign of a disorder of the purple blood cells, this kind of as anemia.

Other names: hemoglobin-binding protein, HPT, Hp