One 5 mL gold (SST) top tube. Also acceptable: red top tubes, Lithium heparinized or EDTA plasma.

1 mL serum at 2-8ºC (Min: 0.5 mL).

*Collection Instructions*

Red-top tubes (no gel): Place the specimen in the refrigerator or ice bath for 30 minutes after collection. Centrifuge the specimen as soon as possible after complete clot formation. Transfer the serum to a plastic specimen transport tube. Mark the specimen type as serum on the transport tube.

Do not place barrier tubes in an ice bath.

Barrier gel separator tubes: Place the specimen in a refrigerator for 30 minutes after collection. Do not place barrier tubes in an ice bath as freezing may prevent the barrier gel from adequately separating from cells. Centrifuge specimen as soon as possible after complete clot formation, ensuring that the barrier gel completely separates serum from cells.

Do not submit whole blood.

EDTA or heparin tubes: Place the specimen in the refirgerator or ice bath after collection. Centrifuge the specimen as soon as possible. Transfer the plasma to a plastic specimen transport container. Mark the specimen type as plasma on the transport tube. Do not submit whole blood. Note: It is very important to centrifuge and separate serum or plasma from red blood cells as soon as possible to avoid falsely elevated results.

Ambient: 4 days

Refrigerated: 14 days

Frozen:6 months

• Gross hemolysis
• Grossly lipemic
• Unseparated serum or plasma
• Whole blood specimens