Share this
the challenges of whole blood sample storage: there is a better way
by Neoteryx on Apr 6, 2017 7:29:00 AM
Storing and shipping whole blood samples poses significant challenges and costs.
Once collected, whole blood must be used immediately or stored and maintained under strict temperature and environmental conditions for analysis or other applications. Characteristics of blood samples begin to change within hours of collection if these are not refrigerated or frozen.
Maintaining the stability of whole blood samples is an essential objective. Since blood components begin to degrade immediately, extended exposure to ambient temperatures dramatically affects the outcome of any analysis. Therefore, medical organizations around the world have created guidelines for the proper storage, packaging, and shipping of whole blood samples.
For example, the FDA recommends that whole blood samples held in specialized containers should only be kept in a refrigerated state for 42 days. However, it is recognized that some changes in the samples may occur during that time.
Another governing body, The National Institute of Health and Welfare in Finland, determined that whole blood samples, refrigerated at 4°C (or about 39°F), should only be held for up to seven days before discarding.
Shipping Whole Blood Samples
When samples must be shipped to another location by air or ground, packaging, labeling, and handling instructions are highly stringent. Since whole blood samples are considered bio-hazardous materials, samples must be packed with several layers of protection and kept cold with dry ice or other refrigeration methods. Containers must be clearly marked for special handling.
International shipments require far more documentation and must comply with local regulations, which may differ from country to country.
An Alternative: Dried Blood Samples
An efficient and far less complicated solution is dried blood sampling. With this method, blood samples can be drawn, often with just a finger prick, and dried. The blood samples retain their integrity through the entire process of shipping and storing until it may be analyzed.
Dried blood microsampling brings efficiency and reduces time, handling, and cost to blood sample collection and handling. Here are some advantages of using DBS blood sampling over whole blood sampling procedures:
- Eliminates substantial cold chain costs
- Far less documentation required to ship
- Less stressful
- Does not require patient to travel to medical facility
- Ideal for blood sampling in remote locations
Share this
- Venipuncture Alternative (109)
- Clinical Trials, Clinical Research (69)
- Mitra® Device (44)
- Research, Remote Research (37)
- Dried Blood Spot, DBS (32)
- Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, TDM (16)
- Decentralized Clinical Trial (DCT) (12)
- Blood Microsampling, Serology (10)
- Infectious Disease, Vaccines, COVID-19 (10)
- Microsampling (9)
- hemaPEN® Device (7)
- Toxicology, Doping, Drug/Alcohol Monitoring, PEth (6)
- Pharmaceuticals, Drug Development (5)
- Harpera® Tool (4)
- Omics, Multi-Omics (4)
- Skin Microsampling, Microbiopsy (4)
- Antibodies, MAbs (3)
- Biomonitoring, Health, Wellness (3)
- Preclinical Research, Animal Studies (2)
- April 2023 (2)
- March 2023 (2)
- February 2023 (2)
- January 2023 (3)
- December 2022 (2)
- November 2022 (3)
- October 2022 (4)
- September 2022 (3)
- August 2022 (5)
- July 2022 (2)
- June 2022 (2)
- May 2022 (4)
- April 2022 (3)
- March 2022 (3)
- February 2022 (4)
- January 2022 (5)
- December 2021 (3)
- November 2021 (5)
- October 2021 (3)
- September 2021 (3)
- August 2021 (4)
- July 2021 (4)
- June 2021 (4)
- May 2021 (4)
- April 2021 (3)
- March 2021 (5)
- February 2021 (4)
- January 2021 (4)
- December 2020 (3)
- November 2020 (5)
- October 2020 (4)
- September 2020 (3)
- August 2020 (3)
- July 2020 (6)
- June 2020 (4)
- May 2020 (4)
- April 2020 (3)
- March 2020 (6)
- February 2020 (3)
- January 2020 (4)
- December 2019 (5)
- November 2019 (6)
- October 2019 (4)
- September 2019 (5)
- August 2019 (5)
- July 2019 (4)
- June 2019 (7)
- May 2019 (6)
- April 2019 (5)
- March 2019 (6)
- February 2019 (6)
- January 2019 (8)
- December 2018 (3)
- November 2018 (4)
- October 2018 (7)
- September 2018 (8)
- August 2018 (5)
- July 2018 (8)
- June 2018 (6)
- May 2018 (5)
- April 2018 (6)
- March 2018 (5)
- February 2018 (7)
- January 2018 (4)
- December 2017 (2)
- November 2017 (3)
- October 2017 (2)
- September 2017 (4)
- August 2017 (2)
- July 2017 (4)
- June 2017 (5)
- May 2017 (6)
- April 2017 (6)
- March 2017 (5)
- February 2017 (4)
- January 2017 (1)
- July 2016 (3)
- May 2016 (1)
- April 2016 (2)
Comments (1)