A patient walks in with fever and fatigue. The doctor orders a full blood count (CBC), the most requested lab test in Kenya.
Most people think a CBC is just a CBC. But the machine that runs it decides how much the doctor gets to see.
What a CBC Actually Tells You
A CBC counts three things:
🔴 Red blood cells carry oxygen. Low levels point to anaemia.
⚪ White blood cells fight infection. High or low levels can signal infection, inflammation or something more serious.
🟣 Platelets help blood clot. They’re critical in malaria, dengue and before surgery.
The difference between analysers comes down to the white cells.
The 3-Part Analyser: The Reliable Workhorse
A 3-part analyser sorts white blood cells into three broad groups. For everyday cases like routine check-ups, antenatal care, common infections and anaemia screening, that’s often all a clinician needs.
It’s affordable, compact and simple to run, which makes it ideal for clinics, health centres, dispensaries and smaller private labs.
The 5-Part Analyser: The Detail Seeker
A 5-part analyser goes further. It separates white blood cells into all five types, so it can pick up things a 3-part count may miss, such as allergic reactions, parasitic infections and early warning signs that need a closer look.
It also means fewer manual slide reviews, which saves your lab team time on busy days. It’s ideal for hospitals, high-volume labs, paediatric units and facilities that handle complex cases.
So Which One Do You Need?
Ask yourself three questions:
How many CBCs do we run daily?
How complex are our patients?
How often do we refer samples elsewhere for further checks?
If you run lower volumes of routine cases, a 3-part analyser gives you excellent value. If you’re seeing complex cases or referring samples out, a 5-part analyser pays for itself in accuracy and time saved.
The best analyser isn’t the most expensive one. It’s the one that fits your patients.
Find the Right Fit for Your Lab
At Sam-Tech Diagnostics, we supply Zybio 3-part and 5-part haematology analysers, backed by local engineers, locally stocked reagents and staff training.
Not sure which one fits? We’ll assess your workload and recommend the right analyser, even if it’s the smaller one.
👉 Book a demo or request a quotation
📞 +254 733 627 834
✉️ info@sam-techdiagnostics.com
Sam-Tech Diagnostics: Simple, Precise & Accurate.