Transport
The centres existing transportation means were examined.
For study purposes, some additional situations were
investigated.
Centre A: Transport by coach The samples were placed in
styrofoam transport boxes. They were delivered in special
boxes located at bus stops and were picked up by a public
bus driver who delivered them to hospital porters. The samples
transported this way were positioned randomly and
exposed to outdoor temperatures for approximately 30 min.
The duration of transport was approximately 60 min.
Centre A: Transport by courier The samples were collected
at the primary care centre. These samples were placed in
racks and were positioned upright. The duration of transport
was approximately 10–60 min. The samples were collected
from the GPs twice a day.
Centre A: Transport by mail Samples were sent after centrifugation,
with plasma ‘‘on gel’’. They normally reached the
hospital the next morning. Samples were transported in a
random position. The exposure to outdoor temperature was
variable.
Centre B There is an established routine courier service,
which picks up the blood samples within 8 h after sampling.
In the meantime, all samples are stored at a controlled temperature
of 21"18C in a special thermostated box, and the
stable temperature is maintained during transport. During
transport, the samples are positioned upright. This procedure
is a follow-up of the results of the previous investigation
described in 2005 (1). Duration of transport during this
investigation was 10–15 min.
As an additional transport form we investigated the stability
of samples stored for 4 and 8 h at room temperature.
These samples were transported together and in the same
way as the thermostated samples.
Another possibility for GPs located far from Centre B’s laboratory
is to centrifuge the blood samples, transfer the plasma
to another tube and mail them to the laboratory. Here,
an additional situation was undertaken: mailing of centrifuged
samples ‘‘on gel’’ without plasma separation.