Do not throw away the shipping container because you will use it to return the blood sample back to us. There will be a return label and shipping instructions inside the Styrofoam box. Use that return label to send both your frozen cold pack and your sample in a biohazard bag back to us.
Preparation is key. Make sure you collect and ship the blood sample on the same day between Monday and Wednesday of the week to so we receive it on the following day. This ensures we get the sample while it is still in good shape for our tests. It also helps us handle potential shipping delays.
Your blood needs to be kept cold during the return shipment to our lab. The cold temperature prevents the blood from degrading and allows us top perform our more sensitive tests.
Register an account here. Your account serves as a secure portal to access your private test results.
Activate your kit here. Activation is necessary because it allows us to confirm your identity and ensures we deliver your test results securely. Your testing kit comes with an activation code that looks like this: CL777-971f-ean1. Submit your code in the form provided on the activation page.
The video above speaks a million words. Please review it carefully before collecting your sample. Try the techniques shown in the video to get your blood flowing.
Your kit will contain the following:
Find a table or elevate flat surface where you may draw and collect blood. Lay down tissue paper to catch any blood you may spill accidentally.
Be prepared to place your blood sample into the Styrofoam box together with the ice pack you left in the freezer overnight. Your blood should not be exposed to room temperature for long.
Place your collection tubes in the tube holders located on the underside of your kit. This will allow you to massage your hand and drip your blood into the tubes without knocking them down.
Knowing when the blood was collected lets us know how long the blood has been exposed and provides an extra guarantee of whose blood we receive.
Choose the hand from which you will draw blood. Wash your hands with warm water for around 20 seconds. It helps to massage your hand from your palm to your fingers. If your fingers turn slightly red, then they are primed for collection. Finally, dry your hands.
Wipe your chosen finger with an alcohol pad to disinfect it and allow it to thoroughly air dry.
Please see the video above to see how a finger stick works and to know where on your finger to make the incision.
No amount of squeezing will get your blood out if the prick is too soft. Make a firm, strong, press when pricking your finger with the finger stick.
The first drop of blood contains skin cells and damaged cells caused by the prick. Form a drop of blood using your thumb to apply pressure near the prick site. Wipe away the blood drop with the gauze pad to prevents those cells from affecting your test results.
Repeat this pattern of forming blood drops and dripping them into your tube until you fill it up to the red line.
It helps to stand and keep your finger below your heart so your blood can flow more easily.
Use your free hand to massage your collection hand. Massage from the base of your palm to the just before the spot you pricked. Keep applying pressure intermittently to form drops.
If you run out of blood in one finger, pause, clean it with gauze, and choose another finger to prick and continue collecting. Follow the same steps as before: wipe it with an alcohol pad, let it dry, prick hard, and wipe away the first drop.
Continue collecting blood until your vial is filled to the red line. Cap the filled vial and place it in the biohazard bag with your name and date. If you have another vial, don't seal the biohazard bag yet. If you don't have another vial, seal the biohazard bag. Put the biohazard bag in the Styrofoam box together with your cold pack.
If you have another vial, repeat the above steps and store it in the biohazard bag with your other vial and seal it.
After collecting your blood, put it in the biohazard bag with your name and date on it. Then, place the biohazard bag into the Styrofoam box containing the frozen cold pack you kept in your freezer overnight.
Put the Styrofoam box into the shipping box we sent you and tape it up. Replace the shipping label on the side of the box with the return label we provided. Finally, drop off the box at a local FedEx or schedule a pick up.