Blood Samples Preserved for 14 Days at Room Temperature

A blood collection tube preserves peripheral blood, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patient samples, for up to 14 days at room temperature, for immunophenotyping by flow cytometry.

The new blood collection tube is called Cyto-Chex BCT. Studies have demonstrated that whole blood samples collected in Cyto-Chex BCT are stabilized, yielding reliable and accurate CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ counts and percent recoveries for seven days at room temperature. The stability claim for the HIV panel of markers CD3, CD4, CD8, CD16+56, CD19, and CD45 in terms of absolute cell counts and percent recovery has been extended to 14 days at 18-22 °C for samples collected in Cyto-Chex BCT.

Streck (Omaha, NE, USA), an independent developer and manufacturer of flow cytometry and hematology controls for the clinical laboratory, has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA; Rockville, MD, USA) clearance for the company's Cyto-Chex BCT. The tube is available in 5 ml draw tubes, packaged in six, 25-tube, and 100-tube configurations, which will allow both small and large facilities to order appropriate amounts of tubes for their needs.

"The extended stability of 14 days allows for the collection of accurate and reliable data from patient samples despite the additional time required for transport from the site of blood draw to specialized, central laboratories for analysis,” said Streck president Connie Ryan. "This addresses a major obstacle encountered during large, global clinical trial studies.”

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U.S. Food and Drug Administration