Biospecimen Management

DEFINITION

• Biospecimen Mangement includes the collection, processing, and storage of specimens such as blood, urine, and/or tissue.

Policies/Guidelines

• Variables important to consider during processing include temperature requirements of the tubes, time period recommended for collecting and processing blood, and centrifugation requirements.
  • Temperature requirements
    • Vacutainer tubes should be stored at 4-25 degrees Celsius.
    • Protocols usually give specific details in reference to if samples should be refrigerated, frozen, or kept room temperature.
  • Time requirements
    • Serum separator tubes should clot at least 30 minutes in a vertical position before centrifugation.
    • However, other samples can wait longer before processing without losing viability, like whole blood specimen collected in an EDTA tubes, which has a 24-hour threshold.
  • Centrifugation requirements & considerations
    • The centrifugation speed, time-frame, and temperature is study protocol dependent.
    • After centrifugation, a distinct and separate layer of plasma or serum should be seen on the top of the gel layer. Gel flowed may be inhibited if chilled before or after centrifugation.
    • One of the most important factors to consider in centrifugation, is that tubes must be balanced before starting the centrifuge.