Haemoglobin
What it measures
g/dL is the near-universal Indian and international convention, though g/L appears on some reports (simply the same number scaled by ten) and the German-language convention of mmol/L occasionally appears on imported lab software.
Haemoglobin below which anaemia is defined
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Children 6–23 months | below 10.5 g/dL (105 g/L) |
| Children 24–59 months | below 11.0 g/dL (110 g/L) |
| Children 5–11 years | below 11.5 g/dL (115 g/L) |
| Children 12–14 years | below 12.0 g/dL (120 g/L) |
| Women 15+, not pregnant | below 12.0 g/dL (120 g/L) |
| Men 15+ | below 13.0 g/dL (130 g/L) |
| Pregnancy, 1st trimester | below 11.0 g/dL (110 g/L) |
| Pregnancy, 2nd trimester | below 10.5 g/dL (105 g/L) |
| Pregnancy, 3rd trimester | below 11.0 g/dL (110 g/L) |
These are the 2024 revision, which lowered two of the older cutoffs — infants 6–23 months and the second trimester of pregnancy both moved from 11.0 to 10.5 g/dL. A report printed against the older figures may call a child anaemic who is not, by the current definition. WHO also directs that the measured value be adjusted for altitude and for smoking before it is compared to these cutoffs.
Reading it in a different unit
This lab reports Haemoglobin in g/dl. Reports from other labs — especially ones using European or US-style formatting — sometimes use a different unit for the same measurement. The relationship between them:
| Reported unit | How it relates to g/dl |
|---|---|
| g/l | g/dl = g/l × 0.1 |
| mmol/l | g/dl = mmol/l × 1.6114 |
Unit conversions verified against published molar masses and LOINC definitions. This is not a diagnostic reference — the normal range for any test is set by the laboratory that ran it and printed on your report.
Why this matters for tracking a trend
A value plotted next to earlier results only tells you something if every point is on the same scale. Two readings of the same test from two different labs, in two different units, can look like a dramatic change when nothing about your actual result changed — only the unit did. Converting to one scale before comparing is what keeps a trend line honest.
LOINC codes for this test: 30313-1, 30350-3, 718-7.
General information about laboratory measurement, not medical advice. Whether a specific result is normal for you depends on your lab's reference range, your history and your doctor's judgement — not on this page.