Educational information only. At Precursor, blood testing is requested and reviewed by a clinician and considered alongside your history and other markers, not as a stand-alone diagnosis. Testing is performed in NATA-accredited laboratories to ISO 15189 standards.

What is haemoglobin?

Haemoglobin is the iron-rich protein inside your red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Measuring it tells you how much oxygen-carrying capacity your blood has, which is why it is one of the central numbers on a full blood count.

Why it matters

Haemoglobin is the marker most directly tied to anaemia and to how well your tissues are being supplied with oxygen. Low levels can leave you tired and short of breath, while high levels can point to other processes, so it is a key indicator of overall blood health.

What your results can mean

Lower than optimal

A low haemoglobin defines anaemia, which has many possible causes including iron deficiency, blood loss and nutritional gaps. It is followed up with iron studies and other markers to find the reason.

Higher than optimal

A high haemoglobin can reflect dehydration or other, less common processes, and is interpreted alongside the rest of the blood count.

Reference ranges in Australia

Haemoglobin is reported in grams per litre (g/L), with reference ranges that differ between men and women. Read your result against the range on your own report and alongside the rest of your full blood count.

Test your blood count with Precursor

Haemoglobin is most informative within a full blood count. At Precursor it is measured as part of Full Advanced Bloods, a single clinician-reviewed blood draw covering your full blood count, heart, metabolic, hormonal, kidney, liver, thyroid and nutrient markers together, giving you and your clinician a broad baseline to understand and track.