Follow a Specimen
Have you ever wondered what happened to that tube of blood after the phlebotomist, nurse or doctor collected it from you? Your specimen is collected, then your doctor sends you the test results. But a lot happens in between!
Let's
follow a blood specimen on its journey. First, your specimen is collected.
A phlebotomist, a laboratory professional who is trained in
specimen collection, will insert a needle into your vein and draw some
blood (photo #1). This procedure is called a venipuncture, a puncture
of the vein.
Next,
the specimen is labeled with your name and some type of identification
number to assure the correct specimen is associated with the correct
patient (photo #2). The phlebotomist will label the specimen immediately
after it is collected.
After
your specimen is collected and properly labeled, it is transported
to the testing laboratory (photo #3). If your specimen was collected
at one of our patient service centers or your doctor's office, it will
be transported by specially trained courier to our testing laboratory.
Once your specimen arrives at the testing laboratory, it is logged into a computer system for tracking (photo #4). Specimens are tracked closely so they move correctly along the path from collection to results.
Some
specimens need to be processed before they can be tested. Most often
this involves centrifuging or spinning a specimen rapidly in a
special instrument, a centrifuge, to prepare it for testing (photo #5).
This separates blood components to create an appropriate specimen for
analysis.
For
example, if the specimen required
for a test is plasma, your tube of blood is centrifuged to separate the
cells in the blood from the liquid
portion, the plasma. The plasma is then removed from the collection tube
and transferred to another tube for testing.
Now
it's time to analyze the specimen. Most specimen testing is performed
on specialized instruments that can analyze many specimens at one time.
You can see the many tubes to be tested on this analyzer (photo #6). Results
are electronically transferred from the instrument back into the computer
system where you
specimen was registered when it arrived
at the lab.
Then they are sent to your doctor. This may be done electronically, by fax or, in special cases when a patient's condition is serious and the results of the test are critical, by phone. Your doctor then provides your test results to you (photo #7).
