Collection: Blood Collection

Following the CLSI-aligned sequence reproduced in Greiner Bio-One's tube charts: blood culture or no-additive tubes first, then citrate (blue cap), serum (red cap), heparin (green cap), EDTA (lavender cap), and glucose/fluoride (grey cap) last. The sequence prevents additive carryover from one tube into the next. If a citrate tube is drawn first through a winged set, collect a discard tube beforehand so air in the tubing does not underfill it.

Each color codes an additive: blue is sodium citrate for coagulation, red is clot activator for serum work, green is heparin for plasma chemistry, lavender is EDTA for hematology, grey is a fluoride glycolysis inhibitor for glucose and lactate, and white is no additive. Because the additive determines which assays a sample can serve, tube choice always follows the test request.

Inversion distributes the additive through the blood; skip it and clot activators or anticoagulants act unevenly, producing fibrin strands or micro-clots. Greiner Bio-One's charts recommend about 4 inversions for citrate tubes and 5–10 for serum, heparin, EDTA, and fluoride tubes. Keep the motion gentle — vigorous shaking hemolyzes the sample.

Frequent pre-analytical culprits are drawing through narrow-gauge needles or IV catheters, prolonged tourniquet time, underfilled tubes, forceful mixing, and temperature extremes in transit. Hemolysis falsely elevates potassium, LDH, and AST among other analytes, and it is consistently reported as the leading cause of specimen rejection.

For pediatric and geriatric patients, people with fragile or hard-to-access veins, and tests that need only small volumes. MiniCollect capillary tubes hold 0.25–1 mL, pair with Lancelino safety lancets, and use the same additive color coding as venous tubes, so downstream handling stays familiar.

As Greiner Bio-One's official Israeli distributor, Danyel Biotech keeps the VACUETTE and MiniCollect ranges in local stock and supports hospital labs, HMO procurement, and phlebotomy services countrywide. Quotes come from the product page or directly from our team.