For Hb variants (Group III, n = 156) too, we found clini- cally unacceptable differences (range −11.3% to 13.9%; mean difference of HPLC minus CAE being −1.39%) (Table 1). While CAE+densitometry was useful for quali- tative and even semi-quantitative assessment of variant HPLC peaks, it could not be relied upon for measuring subtle differences in Hb variants percentages. These are useful for making several diagnostic decisions, i.e., to presumptively distinguish β vs. α-chain variants, HbE vs. HbD-Iran, to predict co-inherited α-thalassemia etc.