Heart Biomarker Evaluation in Apnea Treatment

4.3.8 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.