3.6.9 Special Circumstances

1. Blood specimens (EDTA, Citrate, SCAT-I) cannot be processed within 30 minutes of collection. If centrifugation cannot be performed within 30 minutes of collection, try to process specimens as soon as possible after that time. Note time of collection and centrifugation on the Blood Processing Form. Maintain the EDTA, citrate, and SCAT-I tubes on wet ice until centrifugation.
2. Serum and plasma cannot be frozen within 10 minutes of aliquoting. Every effort should be made to freeze serum and plasma cryovials and the tubes of packed cells at -70°C or below as soon as possible after aliquoting. All samples should be frozen in an upright position. If specimens cannot be placed immediately at -70°C or below, they may be temporarily (< 2 hours) stored at -20°C or placed on dry ice until transfer to -70°C or below. Dry ice is the preferred solution.
3. Low Sample Volume. If there is insufficient sample to make the full set of aliquots for a tube type, fill as many cryovials as possible and make a note on the Blood Processing Form. Any partially-filled cryovial (less than the specified volume) should be marked with a dot on the cap and a “P” in the comment field on the Blood Processing Form next to that cryovial number.

4. A participant may refuse to have the extra blind duplicate tube drawn. In this case, discard the blind duplicate QC number. Continue with the next tube in the QC draw order for the next person selected for blind duplicates.
5. There may be errors in processing the blind duplicate sample. Discard the sample and the QC number and continue with the next tube in the QC draw order for the next person selected for blind duplicates.
6. The blind duplicate tube may not fill properly during the blood draw procedure. Discard the tube and the QC number and continue with the QC draw order for the next person selected for blind duplicates.

National Sleep Research Resource

Cleveland Family Study