Specimen Requirements

Specimen must arrive within 15 minutes of draw.

On Campus:

Draw blood, without the use of a tourniquet, in a whole blood lithium heparin no gel tube on ice from a fasting patient that is at complete rest.

Also Accepted:

Lithium Heparin with gel tube, on ice

Heparinized Blood Gas Syringe, on ice

Outreach Samples:

Collect blood from a stasis-free vein, (without the use of a tourniquet), in a lithium heparin plasma gel tube(s) on ice. If possible, send whole blood on wet ice within 30 minutes. Avoid hemolysis.

Note:  If testing cannot be performed immediately, spin down within 30 minutes, separate plasma from cells, and refrigerate up to 24 hours or store plasma frozen for up to 30 days at -20^oC. Freeze samples only one time.