CBC Test at Home in Dubai.

A complete blood count measures the three cell types in your blood, from one small tube — more than twenty values in total.

Those are: your red cells (RBC count, haemoglobin, haematocrit and the red cell indices MCV, MCH, MCHC and RDW); your white cells (total count plus a five-part differential of neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils, in both percentage and absolute terms); and your platelets (count and MPV).

The CBC itself is AED 199. Home sample collection is charged at AED 49 on bookings under AED 299, so a CBC on its own comes to AED 248 all-in. That includes the nurse visit, DHA-approved laboratory processing, a same-day digital report and a free doctor review.

Once a booking passes AED 299 the collection charge does not apply. So adding ferritin, for example, brings the total to AED 388 with no collection charge at all — which is why an add-on often costs less than its list price suggests.

Same day. A CBC is one of the faster tests a laboratory runs, and your digital report is sent via WhatsApp or email, followed by a doctor review to walk you through it.

Sample collection is available across Dubai 24/7, including evenings and weekends. If you are booking late in the day and need the result by a particular time, say so when you call and the coordinator will tell you honestly whether that is achievable.

No. A standalone CBC needs no fasting at all — eat and drink normally and book whichever time suits you.

One small thing does help: drink water as you normally would in the hours beforehand. Dehydration concentrates the blood and can nudge haemoglobin and haematocrit upward, which in this climate is worth knowing. If a doctor has ordered other tests alongside the CBC, such as glucose or a lipid profile, those may require fasting — check when you book.

These are the values people search for most after reading a report, and they are simpler than they look.

MCV is the average size of your red cells. MCH is the average amount of haemoglobin inside each one, and MCHC is how concentrated that haemoglobin is. RDW describes how much your red cells vary in size from one another. MPV is the average size of your platelets.

Together the first four describe the size and colour of your red cells — and that is what starts to point toward the cause of an anaemia rather than just confirming one exists.

There is no single set of numbers, which is exactly why we do not print one here. Haemoglobin ranges differ between men and women. Children have their own intervals. Pregnancy shifts several values, and so does living at altitude. Different laboratory analysers also use slightly different intervals.

The only range that applies to you is the one printed alongside your own result. Comparing your figure to a number found online is the most common way people frighten themselves over a perfectly normal report.

Low haemoglobin is what defines anaemia — there is less oxygen-carrying protein in your blood than expected. That is usually what explains fatigue, breathlessness on stairs, pallor and light-headedness.

What it does not tell you is why. Low iron, low B12, low folate, ongoing blood loss and several chronic conditions can all produce a low haemoglobin, and they look broadly similar on a CBC alone. The red cell indices narrow it — and a ferritin or B12 test usually settles it.

Usually not, and here is why. A reference range is built to cover the large majority of healthy people — which means a small proportion of perfectly well people fall outside it by definition. With more than twenty values on one report, the odds of at least one sitting slightly high or low are considerable.

What matters is which value, by how much, and whether it fits your symptoms. A marginal figure with nothing else going on is very often normal variation. That judgement is the point of the doctor review, rather than something to work out from a search engine at midnight.

It narrows the question rather than answering it — and that is what a good first test should do. A CBC shows that a count is outside the expected range. It does not show why.

That is not a weakness. It is broad, quick and inexpensive relative to what it rules in and out, which is precisely why doctors order it before anything more targeted. Once it points somewhere, a second test usually settles the cause.

Often nothing — start with the CBC and let the result decide. If you already suspect something specific, these are the usual companions: ferritin and iron (AED 189 and 99) when tiredness or anaemia is the question, vitamin B12 and folate (AED 179 each) if your red cells came back larger than normal or you eat little meat, and TSH or vitamin D (AED 149 and 249) when the CBC is clean but the fatigue is not explained.

Anything added is collected in the same appointment, so there is no second visit and no second needle a fortnight later.

It can be arranged in many cases. Because suitability depends on the child's age and circumstances, speak to our team when booking and the doctor will advise.

Worth knowing: children have their own reference intervals, which differ from adult ranges and change as they grow. A result should always be read against a paediatric range, and doing the collection at home in familiar surroundings is usually far easier on a child than a clinic visit.

A doctor review is part of the price, and no referral is required. Twenty-odd values with a couple flagged is not an answer on its own — the doctor tells you which flags matter, which are ordinary variation, and whether anything further is genuinely worth doing.

To book, call or WhatsApp +971 55 850 2472 with your name, address and a preferred time. Same-day slots are available across Dubai, including evenings and weekends.