Specimen Requirements

Specimen Requirements Serological investigations

Please ensure tubes are not used after their expiry date

Please ensure all tubes are stored within the temperature range of 4-25C (39-77F) before and after use

One yellow top specimen, SST clotted specimen, is normally sufficient for all requests for autoimmune and allergy investigations

Please ensure a separate yellow SST tube is taken for any Immunology requests

Haemolysed, lipaemic, contaminated (turbid), or icteric specimens may not be suitable for some investigations

Telephone the Department if further information is required regarding the performance of assays

Skin biopsy

Skin transport medium is available directly from the Department on request.  Requests for skin transport medium from Immunology must be made at least 72 hours in advance from the time needed.

The medium contains a fixative and preservative and must be stored at room temperature.

Biopsies should be placed in skin transport medium for delivery to the Department on the same day. The medium will stabilise the tissue for up to 72 hours giving time for the sample to be referred onwards. 

 A 5mm punch biopsy taken from a non bullous region is required 

 A layer of intact epithelium is essential for interpretation 

 Please telephone the Department if these requirements cannot be fulfilled 

Calprotectin

A stool specimen is required for analysis

Specimens must be transported to the Immunology Department via the pneumatic pod or by Porter as soon as possible

If there is a delay please store specimens in a fridge until removal for delivery

Please ensure the sample vial is labelled correctly and the following patient details are provided on the pot first name, surname, date of birth, NHS or Hospital number. Please also include date and time of sample collection

Important Specimen Collection Notes

Skin specimens transported in saline or formalin fixed specimen are inappropriate for direct immunofluorescence

If it is likely that the volume of blood is limited at venepuncture please contact the Department before phlebotomy to discuss the minimum volume of blood required for the request

This is particularly important for allergy tests where relatively large volumes of serum may be required

Please telephone the Department directly when requesting latex allergy tests so that patients going to theatre can be prioritised

In addition the Department would be grateful if the same information could be added to the request form

Three days notice is normally required to process these requests

Please refer to the adverse drug reaction protocol section of this document for guidelines regarding mast cell tryptase requests

The Department must receive C1 Esterase, AP50 and CH50 requests within six hours of phlebotomy

For mast cell tryptase requests, the Department must receive 3 specimens for testing for anaphylaxis including drug-related allergic reactions (e.g. perioperative anaphylaxis)

The first must be taken at the time of the event, the second must be taken three hours post event and the final sample should be taken 24 hours or greater post event (in order to measure baseline levels).

Additional examinations

On average the Immunology Department stores samples for around 3 weeks

Please telephone the Department an urgent examination is required for a stored sample

Additional requests may be placed providing this is within this retention period

For any additional requests please contact the Department directly