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I am doing a biomedical sciences course and according to the uni flow cytometry is used in all haematology labs. i know this is not true of the labs near me (edinburgh) but wondered if their use is fairly commom.

I work in a large nhs haematology laboratory walking the flow cytometry section. there will normally be a flow cytometer in larger labs that are regional centres or teaching hospitals. our department does all the flow cytometry for about 5 surrounding smaller nhs trusts, so it is certainly not true that all haematology labs will have one. flow cytometers are expensive and require specific expertise from biomedical scientists. unless the workload is high enough it will be more cost effective to refer samples to a regional centre. our laboratory uses the flow cytometer for lymphocyte markers (cd4 counts in hiv patients and for investigating immunodeficiency), hla-b27 typing (patients with ?ankylosing spondylitis) and in leukaemia immunophenotyping. it is also a great research tool used for many student projects. hope that helps?