Before the modern vacuum tube, blood collection tubes and other devices were difficult and imprecise. Etched lines in borosilicate glass tubes reflected the amount of blood the phlebotomist needed to collect.
Using a disposable venous blood collection needle, the phlebotomist would puncture a vein and direct the blood into the glass tube that contained ETDA or citrate as additives to prevent blood coagulation. Black rubber stoppers were used to seal the tubes for transportation to the laboratory.
Sanitation was also an issue because tubes and syringes were washed between patients. A grinding wheel was used to resharpen multi-sample pen type needles, and they were sterilized between uses.
Ensured that additives were used in the correct proportion for the amount of blood collected. The vacuum tubes used in venipuncture made blood draws safer and easier, and their results more accurate. Regulatory agencies such as the FDA, ISO, and CLSI now enforce guidelines that ensure that blood collection systems are consistent in both design and manufacture.
Has been an advancement in collecting blood using disposable non-vacuum blood collection tubes, ushering microsampling into the mainstream. With DBS sampling, a small prick of blood is dropped onto an absorbent card made of filter paper. After the card absorbs the blood and dries sufficiently, it can be transported much more easily than glass tubes filled with blood samples. The innovation of DBS cards means that a very tiny sample of blood can provide accurate test results, a boon for patients and technical staff alike.
In all settings in which specimens are collected and prepared for testing, laboratory and health care personnel should follow current recommended sterile techniques, including precautions regarding the use of needles and other sterile equipment. Treat all biological material as material that is potentially hazardous as well as contaminated virus specimen collection tube supplies. For all those who are involved in specimen collection and preparation, the responsibility to adhere to current recommendations designed to maintain the safety of both patients and health care workers does not end when the patient is dismissed.
Although most approved saliva collection methods use specialized tubes and buffers to stabilize RNA and viral inactivation, researchers have found that this expensive method may not always be needed. Our disposable saliva collection kit is designed to provide a widely available, cost-effective solution for raw saliva collection to simplify saliva-based detection, which is essential for epidemiological research on a global scale. The easy-to-use self-collection kit helps clean saliva transfer, reduces the risk of cross-contamination when paired with liquid handling procedures, and is seamlessly integrated into the downstream automated workflows of viral RNA extraction and direct PCR for high-throughput monitoring and testing.
The Ministry of Health has recently approved the use of do-it-yourself, self-test COVID-19 antigen rapid test kit (colloidal gold) that can be purchased at pharmacies. Designed to be self-administered, these tests will allow more frequent testing for greater peace of mind, should individuals wish to be tested more often. Anyone who tests positive using a self-test kit should immediately approach a SASH clinic for a confirmatory test, and self-isolate while awaiting results.
