Specimen Requirements

Specimen must arrive at RMH Lab within 12 hours of draw.

A QuantiFERON®-QTB Gold 4-Tube Collection Kit is required for collection of this specimen. For high-altitude locations, use QuantiFERON® High Altitude Collection Kit. (Specimen submitted without following kit guidelines is not acceptable.) Special collection, incubation, centrifugation, and transport procedures must be followed.

QuantiFERON-TB Gold PLUS Collection Instructions:

1. All collection tubes need to be at room temperature (17⁰-27⁰C) at the time of draw.

2. Collect 1 mL of blood into each of the 4 tubes (Gray, Green, Yellow, Purple) provided in the kit.

• If butterfly needle is used, first collect other required tubes, or use a “purge” tube to remove the air and then proceed with collecting the QTB tubes.
• Tubes fill slowly.
• When the tube is upright, blood must be within the small black line on the label.   See figure 1 in the resources link. 
• Specimen volumes outside of black mark will be rejected.

3. Immediately shake each tube 10 times firmly enough to ensure the entire inner   surface of the tube is coated with blood. See figure 2 in the resources link. .

• Do not vigorously shake the tubes. Overly energetic shaking could lead to gel disruption and cause aberrant results.

4. Label all tubes appropriately making sure the correct color label is on the appropriate

colored tube, the QuantiFERON colored band and entire specimen volume is visible.

• Write collection time on ALL tubes.

5. Maintain tubes at room temp and transport to RMH Special Testing.

• Tubes must reach RMH Special Testing within 12 hours of collection time or samples may be rejected.