Collection Requirements

1. Begin the collection by cutting a 6-inch section of the umbilical cord. Any section of the umbilical cord is appropriate.

2. Pinch the specimen between the finger and thumb, then run your fingers down the specimen 3-4 times to drain excess blood. Discard any excess blood.

3. Rinse the exterior of the specimen with normal saline or isotonic rinsing solution. Water should be avoided.

*Prevent the umbilical cord from coming in contact with ethanol based liquids or vapors previous to, and during the collection process. This includes ethanol based hand sanitizer and alcohol prep pads.

4. Pat the specimen dry and place it in the specimen container.

5. Place the newborn’s ID number on the specimen container. The newborn’s name is optional.

*The ID number may be: Medical record number, hospital laboratory accession number, or any other unique identifying number of the collection facility’s choosing.

The hospital patient ID sticker may be utilized to satisfy this step.

6. Fill out the Custody and Control form. Please verify that the pre-printed company information is correct in the client section of the form.

7. Place the newborn’s ID number on the Custody and Control form in the Patient/Donor section. The newborn’s name is optional.

8. Mark the umbilical cord specimen type box.

9. Mark the test or tests requested to be performed in the Tests Requested section. Check ALL that apply.

10. The specimen container must be sealed with a tamper evident seal.

11. Match and verify the newborn’s information on the Custody and Control from with the newborn’s information on the specimen container.

12. Peel off one of the bar-coded, tamper evident specimen seals located at the bottom of the Custody and Control form. Place the bar-coded, tamper evident seal over the cap.

*Failure to place a tamper evident seal over the cap will result in a rejected specimen that the lab will be unable to process.

13. Initial and date the tamper evident specimen seal.

14. Print, sign, and date in the Collector/Processor Cerfication section of the Custody and Control form.

15. Place the original white copy, labeled LAB copy of the Custody and Control form in the large pouch of the plastic specimen bag provided.

16. Place the sealed specimen container in the small pouch of the specimen bag and seal the specimen bag.

17. Place the sealed specimen bag in the transport box provided and close the box.

18. Place the specimen box in an appropriate courier transport overwrap. Contact your courier for pick up.