Procedures for Submission of Specimens to The Wadsworth Center for Defendant HIV Testing

In accordance with the Defendant Testing Guidance Document, specimens from defendants may be submitted to the Wadsworth Center for HIV RNA and antibody testing. Specimen stability, particularly for RNA testing, is affected by elevated temperatures. Carefully follow all instructions provided below to ensure specimen integrity. Please call the Diagnostic HIV Laboratory at (518) 474-2163 for further information.

  1. Specimen mailing kit: The Wadsworth Center Diagnostic HIV Laboratory will provide the appropriate specimen mailing kits, including blood collection tubes. Call the laboratory at (518) 474-2163 to request an HIV specimen mailing kit. Specify that the kit is needed for a defendant testing specimen.
  2. Requisition form: Complete the HIV Requisition Form and write "defendant testing specimen" and the number of days/weeks/months since the exposure in the additional comments section of the form. Be sure to include the patient's name, the submitting physician's name, address and phone number, the date and time of blood collection on the requisition form.
  3. Blood collection: Blood may be collected in standard EDTA blood collection tubes (purple-top) or in plasma preparation tubes (PPT). If the collection site is able to centrifuge PPT tubes, contact the Diagnostic HIV Laboratory at (518) 474-2163 and the Laboratory will arrange to provide the collection site with PPT tubes, along with additional collection, centrifugation and shipping instructions. If the collection site does not have centrifugation capability, follow the instructions in 3a-c for collection of whole blood specimens.
    • Collect blood in the sterile 10-ml plastic EDTA blood collection tube (purple-top) provided in the specimen mailing kit. A full tube of blood is required, but if a full tube cannot be collected, you may collect two partial tubes. The specimen mailing kit contains 2 blood collection tubes.
    • In order to process the sample, the patient's complete name must be on the requisition form and the specimen tube. Follow all directions supplied with the specimen mailing kit for assembling the specimen in to the specimen cylinder and cardboard shipping container.
    • If the specimen cannot be shipped on the day of collection, see the section entitled "Additional specimen collection and shipping instructions" in this document, or call the Diagnostic HIV Laboratory at (518) 474-2163.
  4. Shipping: Send the shipping container with the specimen by overnight express, priority mail, or hand delivery to:
    • Diagnostic HIV Laboratory
      Attn: Defendant Testing
      New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center
      David Axelrod Institute
      120 New Scotland Avenue
      Albany, NY 12208
    Notify the Laboratory by phone at (518) 474-2163 that a defendant testing specimen has been shipped and provide the courier tracking number. If no one is available to take the call, leave this information on the laboratory's voicemail and include the submitter's name and contact information in the message.
  5. Delivery: If a specimen is delivered after normal working hours, the telephone located outside the front door of David Axelrod Institute may be used to contact security personnel. A security officer will come to receive and refrigerate the package until the Diagnostic HIV Laboratory personnel can retrieve the specimen.
  6. Reporting: The Diagnostic HIV Laboratory will report test results to the medical provider of record listed on the requisition form. Results will be sent by overnight mail as soon as testing has been completed.

Additional Specimen Collection and Shipping Instructions

Specimen quality is of utmost importance, if RNA testing will be requested. Specimen stability is affected by elevated temperatures and during the warmer months, specimen integrity could be compromised by elevated temperatures. Also, exposure to very cold temperatures during shipment could result in whole blood becoming frozen in the collection tube, making the specimen unusable for RNA testing.

Whole blood: If whole blood is collected and shipped, the Diagnostic HIV Laboratory must receive the specimen within 48 hours of collection, and the temperature of the specimen must not exceed 25°C (approximately room temperature) during shipment. If the specimen cannot be shipped on the day of collection, the whole blood specimen should be refrigerated (not frozen) and the Diagnostic HIV Laboratory must be contacted at (518) 474-2163 for additional instructions.

Plasma: Plasma that has been separated from the blood cells is more stable than whole blood. PPT tubes are preferred over the standard EDTA tubes described in section 3. PPT tubes contain a gel barrier and centrifugation allows the plasma to be separated into the upper compartment of the tube. Plasma collected in PPT tubes should be received within 48 hours of collection, and the temperature of the specimen must not exceed 25°C (approximately room temperature) during shipment. If plasma cannot be shipped on the day of collection, contact the Diagnostic HIV Laboratory for instructions on refrigerating or freezing plasma prior to shipping.