Download article as a PDF. The Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains a Listing of Medical Impairments (known as the blue book) that automatically qualify you for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), provided certain conditions are met.
A low hemoglobin count is a commonly seen blood test result. Hemoglobin (Hb or Hgb) is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. In many cases, a low hemoglobin count is only slightly lower than normal and doesn't affect how you feel. If it gets more severe and causes symptoms, your low hemoglobin count may indicate you have anemia.
Hemoglobin is the main component of red blood cells and serves as the transporter for oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. Hemoglobin concentration (Hb) is usually reported as grams of hemoglobin per deciliter of blood (g/dL). Hb is commonly measured by the cyanhemoglobin (hemoglobin cyanide) method. A sample of blood is diluted in a solution of potassium ferricyanide and potassium cyanide, which oxidizes hemoglobin to hemiglobin (Hi; methemoglobin) and then converts it to hemoglobin cyanide (HiCN). The concentration of HiCN is then measured by spectrophotometry.