Specimen Requirements

 Serum, with or without gel barrier
Draw blood in a red or gold-top serum tube. Hemolyzed specimen is not acceptable. Spin down within 2 hours of collection and send 1 mL of serum refrigerated in original tube. If not in a gel barrier tube, seperate serum into a plastic aliquot tube to remove from cells.

Lithium heparin plasma is an acceptable alternative, but not the preferred specimen.