The assessment of haemostasis (the blood’s coagulation and anticoagulation systems) is a vital component of diagnosis across many fields of medicine: surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, transplant medicine, oncology and transfusion medicine. A thorough understanding of how the haemostatic system functions is also vital for intensive care physicians when treating patients with SARS-CoV-2, who frequently develop disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).