Specimen Management

October 2022 Quick Question: Underfilled Tubes

Our October 2022 Quick Question asks, "What is your policy on underfilled tubes?" For some preliminary answers, please review our September 20, 2022

Quick Question Archive

September 2022 Quick Question: Specimen Management Summary

Our September 2022 Quick Question was, "You collect blood for a heparin assay. How soon must you centrifuge the specimen?"

Quick Question Archive

Underfilled Tubes

I received this question on September 15 from Carolina Vilchez: I am Carolina Vilchez, an Adjunct Professor

Specimen Management

September 2022 Quick Question: Specimen Management

Our September 2022 Quick Question asks, "You collect blood for a heparin assay. How soon

Quick Question Archive

CAP Today: Specimen Collection

Here are two CAP Today front-page articles featuring Dorothy Adcock, MD and Richard Marlar, PhD regarding coagulation specimen collection: September 2021: In Coag Collections, Every Detail Counts February 2022: Steps to Preventing Coag Test Processing Error These are richly referenced articles that draw attention to International Council for Standardization in Haematology guidelines.

Specimen Management

More on Hemolysis Level and Coag Assays

We have received additional comments [click] on IL instrument “HIL” functions from Dr. Russell [Rusty] Higgins.

Specimen Management

Hemolysis Level and Coag Assays

A timely question from Frank Cragg, MD, Nova Scotia Health. “Hi, I have the IL 750 ready to implement but am getting conflicting information on how much hemolysis to allow. Please help. Regards, Frank Cragg MD, FRCPC [C]. Hello, Dr. Cragg, and thank you for your question, which I’ve forwarded to several experts. Although more […]

Screening Assays

October, 2021 Quick Question: Blue-top Tube Shortage

Our October 2021 Quick Question asked, “How are you managing the blue-top tube shortage?” We had a brisk response with 22 participants answering as follows: We have seen no shortage: 32% [7] Purchase control plasmas: 0% Alternate tube source: 41% [9] Prep our own tubes: 9% [2] Reduce coag orders. 18% [4] Although a third […]

Quick Question Archive

Blood Collection Tube Shortages

In a follow-up to our June 2021 posts describing blue-closure [3.2% sodium citrate] tube shortage, it appears from several anecdotes that while the industry is slowly catching up to blue-closure tube demands, there remain shortages in green-closure [heparin] and other tubes. Meanwhile, we alert worldwide facilities to the availability of tubes through online suppliers of […]

Specimen Management

Coag Specimens, Delayed Analysis, Centrifugation

From a colleague: Hi George, I was having a discussion with a colleague regarding the proper or best way to handle a coagulation sample if the processing was going to be delayed [~4 hrs]. Your name popped up, so hence my email: Option 1: the sample is spun when received and then analyzed later. Our […]

Specimen Management

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George Fritsma is a medical laboratory scientist, educator, and author. George is a member of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis, the International Society for Laboratory Hematology, and the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.

Cheat Sheets from George

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