RBC Lifespan Measurement in Diabetic Children

HbA1c, a measure of mean blood glucose over the lifespan of a red blood cell (RBC), is a marker of increasing importance both for assessing glycemic control in children with known diabetes and for the diagnosis of diabetes in children. HbA1c has demonstrated poor reliability in diagnosis and management of pediatric diabetes and the most plausible reason for this unreliability is that the reference ranges of HbA1c were established based on 120-day RBC lifespan observed in adults, without considering the RBC lifespan difference between children and adults. The proposed studies will for the first time determine RBC lifespan in diabetic children