Preferred Device:

Blood: 4.0 mL

Pediatric Blood: 2.0 mL

The following sample processing is performed by the Metabolic Laboratory staff:
Washed Red Blood Cell Preparation
Step 1: Centrifuge the whole blood at 3000rpm (1800rcf) for 5 minutes
Step 2: Remove plasma and buffy coat layer.
Step 3: Resuspend the red cells in normal saline (0.9% NaCl) with approximately 2 times the volume of the red cells, and invert the tube to mix.
Step 4: Centrifuge for 5 minutes at 2000 rpm and discard the supernatant.
Step 5: Repeat Steps 3 & 4 twice for a total of 3 washes or until the supernatant is clear.
Step 6: Completely remove the supernatant and freeze the red cells at -20°C, preferably at -80°C.  Ship frozen.