Shipping Instructions

Bone marrow aspirate samples must arrive within 4 days of collection.

Specimen Required

Submit only 1 of the following specimens:

Preferred:

Specimen Type: Bone marrow aspirate

Container/Tube: Lavender or pink top (EDTA) or yellow top (ACD)

Specimen Volume: 2 mL

Collection Instructions:

1. Minimum plasma cell percentage is 5%.

2. Invert several times to mix bone marrow.

3. Send bone marrow specimen in original tube. Do not aliquot.

4. Label specimen as bone marrow.

5. Fresh specimen is required for this test, as testing is performed on sorted cells.

Specimen Stability Information: Ambient (preferred) 4 days/Refrigerate

Additional Information: To ensure minimum volume and concentration of DNA are met, the requested volume must be submitted. Testing may be canceled if DNA requirements are inadequate.

Specimen Type: Paraffin-embedded bone marrow clot

Container/Tube: Paraffin block

1. Send 1 hematoxylin and eosin-stained slide in addition to the paraffin block.

2. Minimum plasma cell percentage is 20%.

3. Required amount of tissue area is at least 25 mm(2).

4. Tissue should be fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin. Other fixatives are not acceptable.

5. Decalcified specimens (eg, bone marrow core biopsies) are not acceptable.

Specimen Stability Information: Ambient

Additional Information: If the quality of the specimen is poor or the plasma cell population is below 20%, testing should not be ordered. Testing may be canceled if DNA requirements are inadequate.

Acceptable:

Specimen Type: Tissue slide, bone marrow clot

Slides: 20 unstained slides

Container/Tube: Transport in plastic slide holders.

Collection Instructions:

1. Send 20 unstained, nonbaked slides with 5-micron thick sections of tissue and 1 hematoxylin and eosin-stained slide.

2. Minimum amount of plasma cell percentage is 20%.

4. Required amount of tissue area is at least 25 mm(2).

5. Tissue should be fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin. Other fixatives are not acceptable.

6. Decalcified specimens (eg, bone marrow core biopsies) are not acceptable.

Specimen Stability Information: Ambient

Additional Information:

1. Testing may be canceled if resultant extracted DNA does not meet concentration requirements.

2. Broken or cracked unstained slides will be rejected. Stained slides that were broken and repaired (ie, double mounted) at the client site will not be rejected, as, in most cases, they can still be reviewed under the microscope. However, due to the double mounting, digital scanning cannot be performed.