1. Fill a light blue top tube as far as vacuum will allow
and mix by gentle inversion five to six times. The
exact ratio of 1 part sodium citrate to 9 parts blood
must be maintained. Inadequate filling of the sample
tube will alter this ratio and may lead to inaccurate
results.
2. Patients WHO have hematocrit values above 55% should
have the anticoagulant adjusted to maintain the 1 to 9
ratio. For further instructions on the collection of
platelet-poor plasma for patients with hematocrit value
of >55%, please contact CPL austin customer service.
3. To obtain platelet-poor plasma, immediately centrifuge
sample at 1500 RCFs for 15 minutes, then pipette the
supernatant plasma and transfer to a plastic transport
tube.
4. Re-centrifuge plasma in the plastic transport tube at
1500 RCFs for 15 minutes to ensure that no red cells
are present.
5. Pipette the top two-thirds of the supernatant plasma and
transfer to another plastic transport tube.
6. Immediately freeze the plasma at -20 degrees C or lower
for transport. Critical Frozen (CFZ).
7. When multiple tests are ordered, submit separate tube
for this test.
Patient prep: patients should discontinue oral anticoagulant
therapy for at least 2 weeks prior to testing, upon the
advice of their physician.