Which Blood Test Is Right for You?

Regenerus Labs is a UK-based functional laboratory I have worked with for many years — I co-founded Omnos, which is now integrated with Regenerus. Their 57-marker blood chemistry panel covers the essential clinical territory without unnecessary duplication. The panel has been curated for functional clinical work: the markers are selected with interpretation in mind, not just coverage for coverage's sake.

One honest correction to an earlier version of this page: this panel does not include CRP, ESR, fasting insulin or homocysteine. If those are the markers your question needs, the Functional Platinum panel below is the right choice — or your GP will run CRP and ESR at no cost. What makes Regenerus particularly useful is that the panel can be requested alongside home phlebotomy, and their reporting integrates well with the other functional tests in the TDG Five-Test Programme. For clients who are also running DUTCH Plus, GI-MAP, and OAT, the Regenerus panel fits cleanly into that interpretive framework.

Eighty-three markers, and the panel I would now choose first where the clinical question involves inflammation, immune function or metabolic health. It covers a broad chemistry screen and adds the markers the 57-panel omits — the ones that most often turn out to matter in a stubborn presentation.

It is £108 more than the 57-marker panel and covers twenty-six more markers, which makes it the best value per marker of the three. That is not by itself a reason to choose it. The two panels cover genuinely different ground, and more markers is no help if they are not the markers your question needed.

Eighty-seven markers — the Functional Platinum panel plus a small number of additions, principally active B12 (holotranscobalamin), serum selenium and serum copper. Active B12 measures the usable fraction rather than the total, which genuinely matters, because a total B12 can read high while the active portion is low.

I list this for completeness rather than as a recommendation. The £199 step up from the Functional Platinum panel buys four extra markers. For most people that money does more if it goes towards a second test in a different domain — stool, urinary organic acids, or hormones. Worth ordering when there is a specific reason to want those markers, and I will say so if there is.

Randox Health is a Northern Irish diagnostics company, and their Signature panel — approximately 130 markers for the male panel, up to 180 for the female — remains the widest marker coverage available to non-medical practitioners at this price point. If breadth is what you want, nothing else here matches it.

An honest update: this is no longer my default recommendation. Two practical reasons, and neither is about the quality of the science. Individual markers have been intermittently unavailable for some time, which means a panel can come back with gaps you have already paid for. And it requires a fasted clinic visit, with limited Scottish locations — which for a large proportion of my clients is the difference between testing happening and not happening.

I still order it where the extra breadth genuinely answers the question, particularly for cardiovascular work where ApoB and Lp(a) matter. It is a good panel. It is no longer the one I reach for first.

The panel includes comprehensive thyroid (TSH, Free T3, Free T4, thyroid antibodies), full cardiovascular risk markers including ApoB and Lp(a), detailed metabolic markers, sex hormones, full haematology with differential, liver and kidney function, and a range of nutrients. Critically, it includes markers that most NHS GPs do not routinely request — such as fasting insulin, homocysteine, and GGT.

Bloods & Beyond is a private phlebotomy service offering qualified blood draw at home or at a location of the client's choosing. This is not a testing service in itself — it is a draw service, meaning the blood is taken by their phlebotomist and sent to a laboratory (typically Regenerus or another specified lab) for analysis. The fee covers the visit and draw, not the panel itself.

For a significant proportion of my clients, the ability to have blood taken at home is not a convenience — it is a necessity. Older clients, those with mobility limitations, autoimmune conditions that affect energy and travel capacity, parents with young children, and busy professionals who cannot take half a day to travel to a clinic all benefit enormously from home phlebotomy.

The cost varies by location and timing — weekday appointments are towards the lower end, evenings and weekends higher. Combined with the Regenerus 57-marker panel, the total cost remains competitive with or below many clinic-based alternatives.

Superdrug's online doctor service offers blood testing via in-store phlebotomy at their larger branches. Their panels range from basic health checks to slightly more comprehensive options. The draw is done in-store and samples are sent to an accredited laboratory.

I am honest about where this option sits clinically: the panels are adequate for a first-pass health screen or for clients who are not yet ready to commit to a fuller workup. They do not typically include the functional markers I consider essential — fasting insulin, homocysteine, thyroid antibodies, or sub-fraction lipids are often absent or available only as add-ons.

That said, Superdrug is worth knowing about as an accessible, low-barrier entry point. A client who begins here and sees markers of concern is far more likely to invest in a comprehensive panel subsequently. Sometimes the right first step is the step a client will actually take.