Specimen Requirements

Container/Tube:

Preferred: Full blue-top (sodium citrate) 1.8 mL tube-Hemolyzed or short draw specimen is not acceptable.
Specimen Volume: 0.5 mL sodium citrate plasma

Stability: Centrifuged specimens at 2-4°C or at 18-24°C must be tested within 4 hours of specimen collection.

Collection Instructions: Centrifuge immediately after draw. Forward promptly. If there is a delay in transport of >4 hours or if mailing time exceeds 4 hours, spin down, remove plasma from cells and freeze immediately in plastic vial. Send specimen frozen. Specimen stability is ≤2 weeks when frozen at -20° C.

NOTE:  Patients with a hematocrit of >55% must be recollected using an altered amount of sodium citrate.