Room temperature samples Refrigerated samples Hemolysis Clotted samples Samples with visible red cells
Reference Range(s)
Specimen Requirements
Preferred Specimen
Citrate (light blue top) tube
Minimum Volume
4 mL frozen plasma
Sample Stability
Unacceptable room temperature Unacceptable refrigerated 2 weeks frozen
Transport Temperature
Critical Frozen
Collection Instructions
1. This test requires 4 frozen plasma aliquots. Fill 5 light blue top tubes 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. 3. To obtain platelet-poor plasma, immediately centrifuge sample at 1500 rcf’s 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 rcf’s for 15 minutes to ensure that no red cells are present. 5. Pipette the top two-thirds of the supernatant plasma and transfer equal amounts of plasma (minimum of 1ml) into 4 separate plastic transport tubes. Clearly label tubes as citrate plasma. 6. Immediately freeze the plasma at -20 degrees C or lower for transport. All samples are Critical Frozen (CFZ). 7. When multiple tests are ordered, submit separate tubes for this test.