Specimen Requirements

Collect specimen as follows:
1. Draw blood in light blue-top (3.2% sodium citrate) tube(s). Separate plasma from cells within 1 hour of collection in a centrifuge at 2,500 rpm for 15 minutes or 3,000 rpm for 10 minutes.
2. Using a plastic transfer pipette (do not use a glass pipette) decant the plasma to a screw-capped, plastic (polypropylene) vial. (Glass vials will not be accepted.)
3. Divide the specimen into as many 0.5 to 1 mL aliquots as possible and cap the vial(s) tightly.
4. Freeze specimen(s) immediately at ≤-40º C.
5. Send specimen(s) FROZEN on dry ice.

Note: 1. SPECIMENS WILL BE REJECTED IF UNDERFILLED (< 90%), CLOTTED, HIGH HEMATOCRIT (> 55%), OR GROSSLY HEMOLYZED.
2. Follow special procedure for drawing specimen from an A-line.