PCR Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS FOR BLOOD SAMPLE COLLECTION

PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE COLLECTING YOUR SAMPLE

YOUR KIT CONTAINS

x 1 Collection tube

x 3 Lancet

x 3 Alcohol wipe

x 3 Plaster

x 1 Safety bag

x 1 Return bag

Please make sure that you collect your sample in the morning before eating. Please collect your sample on a Monday to Thursday to avoid return delays to the lab.

BEFORE TAKING YOUR TEST

LOGIN INTO YOUR ACCOUNT, CLICK ON SAMPLE ACTIVATION AND RESULT AND ON THE RIGHT SIDE YOU WILL SEE YOUR TEST. CLICK ON CUSTOMER STAGE CD BOX AND ENTER YOUR RETURN TRACKING NUMBER AND BELOW THE BARCODE FROM YOUR TUBE. PLEASE DO NOT MISS THIS STEP AS IF YOU DON’T ACTIVATE YOUR SAMPLE, WE WON’T BE ABLE TO RECOGNISE THE SAMPLE WHEN ARRIVING IN THE LABORATORY AS BEING YOURS WHICH WILL RESULT TO DISCARD YOUR SAMPLE. Please note that you need to enter the tracking number without any spaces and without the #. PLEASE USE ONLY THE TRACKING NUMBER FROM THE RETURN BAG.

When collecting your sample try the following tips:

Drink plenty of water. Being well hydrated will make it easier to collect your sample.
Shower before you take your test or run your hands under warm water for a few minutes, as heat improves blood flow.
Do some light exercise, to get the blood flowing.
Make sure your arm is below your heart level, let gravity do some of the work.
Nails that are too long can make it difficult to collect a sample.
Do not shake the sample vigorously but invert the tube gently 10 times.
Do not squeeze (milk) the finger.
Re-warm your hands during collection when needed.

TAKING YOUR TEST

Hands should be warm before taking your sample. Wash and soak your hands in warm water. The best finger to use is your ring finger. Avoid using your thumb and little finger. Use the alcohol wipe to clean the finger and let it dry naturally.

Take the top off your collection tube and stand the tube up on a flat surface.

Twist the end of the lancet so that it is ready to use. Press the lancet down firmly on the inside of your fingertip until you hear a click. Wipe away the first drop of blood with the moist wipe. After you must wait until your finger is dry so that the alcohol does not mix with your blood.

Holding your hand downward, and your arm straight, gently massage your finger to produce drops of blood. Don’t squeeze the finger too hard. Place your finger at the mouth of the collection tube and let the blood drip in. Don’t scrape your finger on the tube, as this can damage your blood cells.

Fill your collection tube to the upper line. If you did not collect enough blood to fill the tube, you can use a new lancet on a different finger. Use the plaster to cover the site you took your blood from. PLEASE FILL THE TUBE TO THE UPPER LINE, OTHERWISE THERE WILL BE NOT ENOUGH BLOOD TO PROCESS YOUR SAMPLE.

Replace the top on the tube and push down, you must hear it click. Gently turn the tube upside down
5 times, do not shake it. Don’t worry if the blood looks like it hasn’t mixed. Place the tube back into
the absorbing tubeholder. (Some tests can be processed even when the blood is slightly clotted,
other tests require completely unclotted blood. If you do not flow the instructions properly and the
sample is unable to be processed, we will ask you to purchase a replacement kit). Dispose of any
rubbish, including all the lancets, in your household waste. Put your sample in the safety bag.

Make a note of the return tracking number found under the barcode on the postal tracking label, as shown and the serial number from the sample tube found under the barcode. Keep this in a safe place for future reference. Post your sample in a Royal Mail Priority Post box on the same day it was taken.

Before you post your sample, double-check that you have:

Activated your sample.
Filled the tube to the upper line (the line closer to the lid).
Pushed the collection tube lid until you hear the click.
Entered your return tracking number and barcode.
Post your sample on the same day that you collect it.

AFTER YOU TAKE YOUR SAMPLE, YOU MUST SEND IT TO THE LABORATORY IMMEDIATELY TO AVOID CLOTTING ISSUES.

Sample Management starts at the moment you prick your finger using your home test kit. Please do not leave your test sample sitting around home for 1-2 days. If you do that, it will most likely arrive to the laboratory already clotted, and it can’t be tested. So, please take your sample to the drop box as close to the intended drop box collection time as possible and make sure that the sample is collected and is not sitting overnight in the drop box waiting for collection the next day or even later. It is very important that the sample arrives to the laboratory in good condition.

Intended Use
A single use, human finger-prick capillary blood sample collection kit for home use, used for the collection and transportation to an accredited testing laboratory via the postal service for the purpose of analysis for a variety of tests which require capillary blood. This kit is not for screening, monitoring or diagnosis itself, but simply a collection device intended to be used by lay users who are over the age of 18, which may include caregivers. There is no automation or quantitation involved.

Safety Precautions
Only use the equipment provided to take your sample.
Kit to be used for intended use only.
Keep out of reach of children

Warnings
This kit must be used within 120 days of purchase.
Do not open the collection tube until time of intended use.

Contraindications
Not to be used by persons under the age of 18 years old.
Do not use lancets on fingers with injury or infection.

Storage
Do not expose to direct sunlight.
Store product at less than 25°C.

Material of Animal Origin
Gel barrier: Contains component from bovine origin.