Test Directory

The most important inhibitor to plasmin, α2-antiplasmin, prevents plasmin action on fibrin during fibrinolysis. Decreased levels may lead to easy bruising, epistaxis, hematuria, menorrhagia, hemarthrosis, and bleeding after trauma or surgery.

Specimen Type: Platelet Poor Plasma

Collection Container: Light Blue (Sodium Citrate)

Desired Specimen Volume: 1 mL 

1. Collect a light blue top (sodium citrate) tube via venipuncture.
2. Evacuated collection tubes must be filled to completion to ensure a proper blood-to-anticoagulant ratio.
3. The sample should be mixed immediately by gentle inversion at least six times to ensure adequate mixing of the anticoagulant with the blood.
4.  A discard tube is not required prior to collection of coagulation samples unless the sample is collected using a winged (butterfly) collection system. With a winged blood collection set a discard tube should be drawn first to account for the dead space of the tubing and prevent under-filling of the evacuated tube.
5. When noncitrate tubes are collected for other tests, collect sterile and nonadditive (red-top) tubes prior to citrate (blue-top) tubes. Any tube containing an alternative anticoagulant should be collected after the blue-top tube. Gel-barrier tubes and serum tubes with clot initiators should also be collected after the citrate tubes.

Platelet-Poor Plasma Processing Instructions

1. Perform platelet poor plasma processing procedure.
2. Transfer 1 mL of platelet poor plasma into a LabCorp PP transpak frozen purple tube. Freeze immediately and keep frozen until testing.
3. To avoid delays in turnaround time when requesting multiple tests on frozen samples, please submit separate frozen specimens for each test requested

Transport to the laboratory frozen.

• Severe hemolysis
• Clotted specimen
• Specimen diluted with I.V. fluids

See patient report.

• α2-Antiplasmin