Specimen Required

Patient preparation:

1. Patient should be fasting for 8 hours.

2. Do not order on patients who have recently received methotrexate or other folic acid antagonists.

Collection Container/Tube:

Preferred: Serum gel

Acceptable: Red top

Submission Container/Tube: Plastic vial

Specimen Volume:0.6 mL

Collection Instructions:

1. Serum gel tubes should be centrifuged within 2 hours of collection.

2. Red-top tubes should be centrifuged, and the serum aliquoted into a plastic vial within 2 hours of collection.