Quick Question About Blood Samples

[eventualeventer]

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I have a stupid question about running chem panels -- if a test can be run on serum OR plasma, and the blood sample is incompletely anticoagulated/partially clotted (due to improper sample handling), can you still spin it down and use the supernatant?

ETA: I apologize if this is considered to be soliciting veterinary advice; I will ask the appropriate real-life people before trying this on anyone's expensive machine, just curious for tonight.

 

[aspiringDVM]

Our machine is finicky, so whenever it looks like a sample is not 100% separated we take the supernatant and spin it again in the microcentrifuge, which seems to do the trick most of the time.

 

[david594]

I think the question has more to do with the sample not being completely plasma and not being completely serum since it was partially clotted.

 

[HopefulAg]

I would think if it can use either/or then what it's basing the test on isn't unique to either medium and thus the test could be run on an incompletely clotted sample with just regular centrifugation.

 

[eventualeventer]

Thank you! I feel (slightly) less incompetent now.