CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
November 2020—The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute released two new guidelines, MM13: Collection, Transport, Preparation, and Storage of Specimens for Molecular Methods, 2nd ed., and GP42: Collection of Capillary Blood Specimens, 7th ed.
MM13 provides recommendations on proper and safe biological specimen collection and nucleic acid isolation and purification. It also provides information on specimen collection and transport devices, sample preparation methods and optimal storage conditions, and special precautions for molecular methods.
Collection of Capillary Blood Specimens provides guidance for proper capillary blood collection procedures and processes to ensure the safety of the patient as well as the health care professional. Specifications for collection sites, puncture depth, and disposable devices used to collect, process, and transfer capillary blood specimens are also included.