Clinic Services

The Institute of Haematology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is a unit of the Central Sydney Area Health Service and a core member of the Sydney Cancer Centre. The Institute of Haematology provides the full range of clinical services for patients suffering from all disorders of the blood and blood forming organs. This includes initial evaluation, second opinion, diagnosis, long-term monitoring and all forms of up to date treatment.

1. Haematological Malignancies

• Acute and chronic leukaemias.
• Hodgkins disease and non-Hodgkins lymphomas.
• Myeloma, plasmacytoma and Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.
• Autologous and allogeneic blood and bone marrow transplantation.
• Myeloproliferative disorders: polycythemia, thrombocytosis and myelofibrosis.
• Myelodysplasia and myelodysplastic syndromes.
• Apheresis and cryopreservation.

The Institute of Haematology is an active member of and a major contributor to the Australian Leukaemia Study Group, the Australian and New Zealand Lymphoma Group and the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Group. The full range of appropriate therapy including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, biological therapy and transplantation is available. Research of direct relevance to patient care and outcome is a high priority.

2. Disorders of Blood Clotting (thrombosis and haemostasis)

• Hereditary and acquired tendency to excessive blood clotting (thrombosis).
• Hereditary and acquired tendency to excessive bleeding.
  • Hereditary:
    • Haemophilia A, Christmas disease (haemophilia B), von Willebrands disease and other disorders.
• Monitoring of oral anticoagulant therapy.

The Institute of Haematology maintains an active treatment centre for haemophilia and related disorders. It is an international reference centre for patients with haemophilia and related disorders and is the Haemophilia centre for New South Wales. The anticoagulant clinic provides a monitoring service for patients taking oral anticoagulant medications (warfarin and dindevan).

3. General Haematology

All aspects of general haematology.

• All anaemias: nutritional (iron, folic acid, vitamin B12 ), haemolytic and thalassaemia.
• White cells disorders: leukopenia and leukocytosis (see also leukaemia).
• Platelet disorders: thrombocytopenia and thrombocytosis.
• Autoimmune diseases.

4. Thalassaemia and Transfusion Medicine

• Diagnosis and management of thalassaemias and related disorders (sickle cell disease). A transfusion and iron chelation programme is offered for those with severe thalassaemia.
• Genetic screening for inherited disorders of the blood: thalassaemia, haemophilia and thrombosis.
• Transfusion medicine services such as autologous blood donation and antenatal screening.

5. Other Services

Apheresis: plasmapheresis and leukapheresis.

Clinic Details

Times:

• General and haematological oncology: Daily (Mon - Fri)
• Haemophilia and blood clotting: Wednesday.

Booking:

• Bookings can be made for all clinics by telephone 02-951 58031 (8:00 AM - 5:00 PM), or
  by fax: 02-951 58474.
• In emergency contact the Haematology registrar on 02-951 56111.

 

Laboratory Services

The Institute has a large and active laboratory which is involved with diagnostic testing and research procedures. The laboratory performs more than 500,000 tests per year.  The laboratory has been accredited by NATA and has ISO 1725 certification.

1. Haematology

The Haematology Laboratory performs a comprehensive range of services including bone marrow biopsy for the Central Sydney Area Health Service and will perform referred tests for external clients.
The CSLS Handbook of Laboratory Medicine includes all tests performed in this laboratory.

2. Blood Bank

The Blood Bank provides compatible blood components for patients within the Central Sydney Area Health Service. A comprehensive range of tests are available including blood grouping, antibody screening, antenatal screening, antibody identification and pretransfusion testing . In addition arrangements for collection of pre-operative autologous blood can be made.

3. Kanematsu Laboratory (Molecular Haematology)

The Kanematsu laboratory performs a range of diagnostic tests based on molecular techniques.  These tests identify patients with genetic disorders and assist with the classification of malignant disorders. These tests are listed in the CSLS Handbook of Laboratory Medicine.