Specimen Requirements

Container Type: Lithium Heparin (Green Top) or Serum Separator (Gold Top)

Specimen Type: Plasma or Serum

Preferred Volume: 1 mL

Emergency Volume: 0.3 mL

Specimen Processing: Separate serum or plasma from cells within 2 hours of collection. Store and transport refrigerated. Protect specimen from light.

Limitations: The same specimen type should be used to monitor patients in a series of collections. Patients who have received glucarpidase (carboxypeptidase G2) as a rescue therapy should not be tested using this method.

Alternate Specimen: Plain Serum Tube (Red Top), EDTA Plasma (Lavender Top), Sodium Heparin (Dark Green Top)

Stability: