Specimen Type:

Whole Blood

Container Type:

Blue top: 2.7 mL or 1.8 mL

Optimal Collection Volume:

• 2.7 mL in solid blue top tube or 1.8 mL in clear blue top tube.  The correct fill volume is indicated by the etched line on the tube.
• Click here to view the specimen collection guide for blue top (citrate) tubes.

Collection Instructions:

1. Do not draw from an arm with a heparin lock.
2. Gently invert 5 to 10 times to mix blood.
3. If collected through a blood collection set (butterfly), a discard tube must first be drawn to eliminate dead space from tubing.  

Specimen Transport Temperature:

• Room temperature for up to 4 hours. If testing is delayed, separate plasma and freeze (see outpatient collection instructions below).
• Specimens cannot be refrigerated

Processing Instructions:

1. Centrifuge sample within 4 hours of collection. Platelet-poor plasma must be obtained per laboratory procedure.
2. If testing will be delayed >4 hours from collection, aliquot plasma into a separate vial and freeze immediately.

Outpatient collections

1. Spin down the sample, remove plasma, and spin plasma again to obtain platelet-poor plasma.
2. Separate the platelet-poor plasma into a screw-top vial.
3. Freeze plasma immediately.