Blood Specimens

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 Functions of Blood
 Distribution
 Eliminates waste products
 Maintains acid-base balance
 Thermoregulation
 Protection
 Hydraulic function
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 Composition of Blood
 Plasma – liquid in which other
components are suspended
 RBCS (erythrocytes) – vital role in
internal respiration
 WBCS (leukocytes) – protect the body
against infection
 Platelets (thrombocytes) – crucial to
clot formation
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 Collecting Blood Specimens
 Reading and interpreting the test order

 Assembling the equipment and supplies

 Preparing the patient

 Greeting and identifying the patient

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 Confirming pretest preparations
 Explaining the procedure and
safety precautions
 Establishing chain of custody
 Handling exposure incident
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 Identifying the Patient
 Ask patient to state  Some places, the
their full name. phlebotomist may
 Be sure you hear both ask for social
the first and last security, patient ID,
names correctly. or chart number to
 Verify that the name further identify the
the patient gives is the patient.
name on the order.

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 Drawing Blood
 Venipuncture – puncture of
a vein
 Phlebotomy – puncturing a
vein with a needle to collect
blood into a needle or tube
Common Sites for
Venipuncture
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 Venipuncture Equipment
 VACUTAINER –special double-pointed needle,
needle holder, and collection tubes
 Needle and syringe system – use a sterile needle
and a syringe to draw blood specimen
 Butterfly system – winged infusion set and syringe
 Collection tubes – must mix blood with
appropriate sample containers
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 Vacutainer
The VACUTAINER :

 Uses interchangeable
collection tubes

 Allow you to draw several

blood specimens from the
same venipuncture site.

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 Capillary Puncture
 Superficial puncture of
skin with sharp point to
draw small amount of
blood.
 Collected in small,
calibrated glass tubes,
slides, or reagent strips. 10
Supplies required for taking a blood
sample

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The hand of the person to
be tested is placed palm-side up

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The finger selected for pricking is massaged
to encourage blood flow

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The finger is cleaned using an alcohol swab

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Holding the finger firmly ,the sterile
lancet is placed off-centre

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(f)A drop of blood is squeezed out

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The capillary tube is filled with blood
between the two marked lines on the tube

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All contaminated supplies are
disposed of safely

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Patient Needs
 Alleviate patients fears or concerns
 Provide more information about:
 Pain
 Bruises or scars
 Serious diagnosis
 Contracting a disease from procedure 19
 Special Considerations
 Children:
 Talk with patient or caregivers before working with
child
 Address them directly
 Speak calmly in soothing voice
 Explain the procedure briefly in terms they can
understand
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 Keep child informed of status of procedure
Special Considerations
(cont.)
 Elderly Patients:
 Changes in skin conditions make elderly
patients prone to bruising
 Decreased circulation makes it difficult to
collect enough blood
 Speak in clear, low-pitched tone
Give the patient time to respond to questions
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
Special Considerations (cont.)

 Patients at risk of uncontrolled bleeding such as

hemophilia or taking blood-thinning drugs
 Be careful and alert
 Hold cotton ball over the puncture site for at
least 5 minutes
 Notify physician if bleeding is uncontrollable 22
 Special
Considerations (cont.)

 Difficult venipuncture  Fainting patient:

 Try a second time and  Position before
then give the patient a venipuncture so no
rest injury will occur

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 Special Considerations (cont.)
 Angry or violent patients:
 Encourage patient to submit to
test and then talk with doctor
 Do not force the issue
 Patient has the right to refuse

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Hematologic Tests
 Performed on venous or capillary blood
specimens
 Blood counts
 Red blood cells
 White blood cells
 Platelets
 Hematocrit
 Hemoglobin
Centrifuged Capillary Sample 25
Hematologic Tests (cont.)
 Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) –
measures rate at which red blood cells settle to
the bottom of blood sample
 Put freshly collected blood into calibrated tube and
place in sedimentation rack
 In one hour determine how far the red blood cells
have fallen

Record in mm/hr
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