About the notes
Laboratory medicine makes more sense when the numbers become a story.
Written for medical laboratory professionals, students, and anyone learning how hematology decisions are made at the bench.
Why this site exists
Textbooks are good at telling us what a result means in isolation. The bench rarely gives us results in isolation.
HemeLabNotes focuses on the part between seeing a flag and releasing a result: noticing which values belong together, recognizing when the specimen may be misleading us, and deciding what deserves a closer look.
How the notes are written
Each guide starts with the pattern, not a catalog of diseases. Reference ranges, instrument flags, smear findings, previous results, and clinical information all have a place—but their value comes from how they change the interpretation.
The aim is not to replace local procedures, manufacturer instructions, or clinical judgment. It is to make the reasoning visible.
About the author
Tan Boon Keng is a Medical Laboratory Scientist with more than 20 years of experience in medical laboratory science. He holds a Bachelor of Biomedical Science from the University of Tasmania.
HemeLabNotes focuses on practical laboratory interpretation, hematology, morphology, quality practices, and the reasoning used in day-to-day laboratory work.
A note on use
This site is educational. Always follow your laboratory’s validated methods, review criteria, critical value policy, and escalation process. Patient results require interpretation in their full clinical context.
Contact & Corrections
Found a possible error, an outdated reference, or something that could be explained more clearly? Feedback, questions and corrections are welcome.
Email: hemelabnotes@gmail.com