Specimen Handling
Specimen Requirements
All samples should be labeled with the patient’s full name, date of birth, date and time of draw.
Blood
3-5 ml of blood in EDTA (purple top tubes). Transfer or ship to the laboratory at ambient temperature within 24 hours. Blood samples may be refrigerated prior to delivery if shipment is delayed. Please do not freeze or centrifuge the blood samples.
Cultured Cells (including skin fibroblasts, amniocytes, or chorionic villi cells)
Two nearly confluent T-25 flasks filled with media and shipped to the lab at ambient temperature. Please keep backup cultures growing in your laboratory until results of testing have been received. Please send a maternal blood sample (EDTA tube) with fetal samples for maternal contamination studies.
Frozen Tissue
Fresh surgical specimens or biopsy material (~1 cm3) may be frozen directly or in OCT (used for surgical frozen sections) at -20oC or -70 oC and transferred to the laboratory on dry ice.
Other Specimens
High molecular weight genomic DNA, cheek epithelial cells, or other samples containing DNA may be acceptable. Contact the laboratory for specific instructions regarding such samples.
Documentation
- Each specimen must be accompanied by a completed test requisition form
- Please remember to complete all the required fields marked by an asterisk (*).
- Specimens without proper ordering or payment information will be held until the appropriate information is provided.
- Informed consent is required for prenatal tests and for any progressive disorder for which there is no treatment or cure. For all other tests, although consent is not required, practitioners are encouraged to obtain informed consent from patients being tested.
Shipping
Samples should be shipped by overnight carrier to arrive Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Shipping Address
Catherine A. Stolle, PhD
Molecular Genetics Laboratory – CHOP
Abramson Research Center, Room 714G
3615 Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4318
Phone: 215-590-8736 (Office) or 215-590-4404 (Lab)
Fax: 215-590-2156
stolle@email.chop.edu
NB: Sender is responsible for shipping charges. Samples marked “Bill To Recipient” will be declined.
Contact Us
- (215) 590-8736
- Contact Us Online