Specimen Requirements

1. Draw blood in a light blue-top (3.2% sodium citrate) tube. Separate plasma from cells within 1 hour of collection and centrifuge at 2,500 rpm for 15 minutes or 3,000 rpm for 10 minutes.
Note: 1. Specimen collected needs to be exactly 9 parts blood to 1 part 3.2% sodium citrate.
2. Using a plastic transfer pipette (do not use a glass pipette), decant the plasma to a screw-capped, plastic vial (do not aliquot to glass vial). (Glass vials is not acceptable.)
3. Obtain a platelet count on the platelet-poor plasma. If the platelet count is >10,000, respin the specimen and repeat steps 2 and 3 until the platelet count is <10,000.
4. When the platelet count is acceptable, divide the specimen into as many 1 to 2 mL aliquots as possible and cap the vials tightly. Send at least 1 mL plasma.
5. FREEZE specimens immediately at ≤-40C.
6. Send specimens FROZEN on dry ice.