Specimen Requirements

Blood for APTT, Sensitive D-Dimer, Fibrinogen, and Prothrombin Time

Container/Tube: Light blue-top (sodium citrate) tube
Specimen: 2.7 mL of sodium citrate whole blood

Transport Temperature: Ambient

Specimen Stability: Stable for 8 hours at room tempearture.
Collection Instructions: Tube must be full. Do not centrifuge. If collected through an indwelling catheter, line should be flushed with saline and first 10 mL of blood should be discarded. Remove needle from syringe following appropriate safety procedures. Immediately transfer 2.7 mL of blood to a non-evacuated tube, and allow blood to run down sides of tube. Mix gently 3 or 4 times. If collected through a blood collection set (butterfly), a discard tube must first be drawn to eliminate dead space from tubing. Gently invert 3 to 4 times to mix blood. Do not uncap tube.

Blood for Platelet Count

Container/Tube: Lavender-top (EDTA) tube or lavender-top (EDTA) MICROTAINER

Specimen: 3 mL of whole blood in EDTA tube, or 250 ul of whole blood in lavender-top (EDTA) microtainer

Transport Temperature: Ambient. Specimen for platelet testing must arrive at lab witin 24 hours of draw.  If refrigerated, specimens with normal results may be analyzed up to 36 hours after collection.

Collection Instructions: Draw EDTA whole blood after sodium citrate coagulation specimen in order to avoid transferring sodium citrate anticoagulant into the coagulation tube from needle carry over. Tube must be at least half full. Invert several times to mix blood. Forward promptly. Specimen cannot be frozen.

Note: If specimen cannot arrive within 24 hours of draw, send specimen refrigerated.