Specimen Requirements
Minimum of 1.0 mL plasma
Supplies for Submission
Light Blue Top (1)
Specimen Collection
- Fill up a Light Blue Top tube as completely as possible and mix by gently inverting the tube 5-6 times.
Inadequate filling will distort the exact ratio of 1 part sodium citrate to 9 parts blood required for accurate results.
- Immediately centrifuge the specimen at 1500 RCF for 15 minutes.
- Pipette the supernatant plasma and transfer to a plastic transport tube.
- Re-centrifuge plasma in the transport tube at 1500 RCF for 15 minutes to make sure that no red blood cells are present.
- Pipette the top two-thirds of the supernatant plasma and transfer 2.0 mL to a second transport tube, labeled with two patient identifiers.
- Label this aliquot tube as citrate plasma and immediately freeze at -20 °C or lower for transport.
Storage Requirements
Critical Frozen (CFZ).
After separation from cells, specimens are stable if frozen for 1 month (- 20 °C).