Guidelines for Handling and Shipping of Blood Samples

Transcription

1 Biofocus Institute for Laboratory Medicine Dr. med. Doris Bachg Dr. med. Uwe Haselhorst Berghäuser Str Recklinghausen Germany contact: Dr. Doris Bachg phone Dr. Lothar Prix phone Guidelines for Handling and Shipping of Blood Samples Biofocus GmbH 1

2 Please follow these steps: 1. Fill out the Examination Assignment Form on the last page of this document. The from is also provided on our website ( 2. Enclose the form to the sample package or fax to Biofocus 3. About 20 to 30 ml of blood is needed for the analyses. Please read careflully below how the blood should be drawn. Avoid sampling immediately after administration of any i.v. medication. 4. Prepare the blood samples as described below for shipment to us. It is important to send the samples cooled as fast as possible to us. So that we are properly prepared, please announce the shipment of samples to us in good time. If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact us by , phone or fax. Contact addresses are: Dr. D. Bachg Tel Fax Dr. L. Prix Tel Fax What kind of specimen should be provided to Biofocus? The analyses are usually made from blood. We usually need about 20 ml of freshly drawn blood, provided in two heparinized glass BD Vacutainers, 10 ml, green cap. Comparable blood drawing vessels are also suitable, however they must contain heparine as anti-coagulant and must be made of glass! Please see below how the blood should be drawn in detail. Biofocus GmbH 2

3 How should blood be drawn by the physician? The blood should be drawn in BD Vacutainers. It is important to use heparinized Vacutainers made of glass and not of plastic! In total, about 20 ml of blood in two Vacutainers is needed for a complete analysis. 1 2 Materials required: 1 BD Vacutainer blood collection set (butterfly) 2 BD Vacutainer holder 3 BD Vacutainer collection tube, 10 ml (glass, green cap, sodium heparine for anticoagulation). 3 Step 1: Remove the blood collection set from the packaging and attach it to the BD Vacutainer holder. Never use a blood collection set without the holder. Step 2: Access the vein using standard needle insertion technique. If the vein is properly accessed, blood will enter the tubing. Step 3: While the needle is still in the vein, apply the green capped glass tube to the BD Vacutainer Holder until the tube is filled with blood. Remove the tube from the holder. If more than one tube has to be collected, insert a new one into the holder. Upon completion of collection, apply light pressure to blood collection site and withdraw blood collection set. IMPORTANT: Turn the blood collection tubes several times upside-down to disperse the heparine in the blood evenly! Biofocus GmbH 3

4 How should the specimens be shipped to Biofocus from Overseas? Samples have to arrive within 48 hours at Biofocus Send per FedEx International Priority service. Use our FedEx customer no Commoditiy description on the waybill: non-hazardous, non-infectious human blood samples for in vitro diagnostic testing. IMPORTANT: To avoid custom delays, include an appropriately filled commercial invoice (example see next page). U.S. shipment must be on Mondays or Tuesdays to arrive in time before the weekend The samples must be shipped at F (5-10 C). Do not use dry ice for cooling! Contact for ordering blood shipment kits: North America: Cameron Packaging, Lima OH, phone: , Other countries: You may contact us directly: Biofocus GmbH, phone , prix@biofocus.de 1 Blood shipment kit required: 1 Standard cooling box (e.g. foam box) 2 Secondary receptacle with adsorbent (towel) and blood BD Vacutainer 3 Standard gel packs for cooling 3 2 for ordering complete kits see above Step 1 Since the Vacutainer is made of glass, it is important to put the vacutainer in an appropriate secondary receptacle to protect it from breaking. The secondary receptacle also prevents unwanted freezing of the blood by direct contact of the Vacutainer with the ice packs. Step 2 Put the protected Vacutainer together with the ice packs in the foam box and prepare for shipment. Store the package in the refrigerator (5-10 C; F) until pickup by the parcel service. Biofocus GmbH 4

5 BiofocusGmbH Dr.LotharPrix BerghäuserStr Recklinghausen Germany USA Non-infectioushumanblood 1 Box $20.oo samplesfordiagnostictesting packedinvacutainersand secondaryprotectivereceptacles forlaboratoryinvitrouseonly usedformoleculartesting $20.oo

6 Examination Assignment Form for Molecular Oncology Send to: Biofocus Institute for Laboratory Medicine Dr. med. Dipl. Chem. Doris Bachg Dr. med. Uwe Haselhorst Berghäuser Str Recklinghausen Germany Institute for Laboratory Medicine Berghäuser Straße 295 [Ecke Blitzkuhlenstraße] Recklinghausen Telefon +49 [0] Telefax +49 [0] Internet Information about patient Name: Date of Birth: q Male q Female Date of Blood Extraction: Type of Tumor/Stage: Patient formerly treated with: Intended further treatment: Requested Analyses q 1. Molecular detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood Price: Euro. Specimen: 20 ml heparinized blood (required for test option #2. and #3.) q 2. Molecular detection of CTCs plus testing for use of chemotherapeutic drugs and alternative agents Price: Euro. Specimen: 20 ml heparinized blood (includes test option #1) q 3. Detection and testing of CTCs for use of alternative agents in conjunction with standard chemotherapy Price: Euro. Specimen: 20 ml heparinized blood (includes test option #1) q 4. Immune function testing by the Cellular NK-Test Price: Euro. Specimen: 30 ml heparinized blood IMPORTANT: Samples must arrive within 48h at Biofocus. Send specimens cooled by FedEx as described on our homepage ( Contact persons: Dr. Doris Bachg (bachg@biofocus.de) ( or Dr. Lothar Prix (prix@biofocus.de) ( Institution Clinic: Physician: Phone: FAX: Stamp of clinic / physician Consent of patient I have been informed by my physician about the requested examinations and accept the costs for these analyses. Additionally, 60 shipping costs accrue. PAYMENT BY CREDIT CARD: VISA / MASTERCARD / AMERICAN EXPRESS delete as appropriate CARD NO. EXPIRY / CARD VERIFICATION CODE Date / Signature of Patient: