M.P. Kelly Law - Blood Testing

1. Blood Test Issues
 Challenges to Blood Tests
 Collection
 Storage
 Testing

2. Collection
 Collector
 Tubes
 Blood

3. Collector
 Was the collector properly trained?
 A phlebotomist is one who has
significant training in the drawing of
blood.
 Did the collector follow protocol?
 Blood needs to be drawn in a clean
and disinfected environment.
 The collector needs to wear gloves.
 An alcohol-free wipe needs to be
applied to the client’s arm. Betadine
should be used

4. Tubes
 Was the client’s blood collected in 2 grey
topped tubes?
 The grey top of the tube indicates a
preservative and anti –coagulant has
been added to the tube.
 The powder inside the tubes should
be white, this means that the
preservative and anti-coagulant
have been added to the tube.

5. Tubes
 Did both tubes come from the same blood
kit with the same expiration date?
 Was the blood collected before the tubes’
expiration date?
 Did the equipment used to draw the blood
and the tubes come from the same blood kit
?

6. Blood
 Was the blood collected on the first stick?
 Was the sample that was drawn comprised
of whole blood as opposed to plasma?
 Were both tubes filled with between 9 and
11ml of blood?

7. Blood
 Was the blood kit box properly sealed and
labeled?
 Was the box immediately refrigerated after
the blood was collected?
 Generally 4degrees Celsius is what
blood should be stored at in order
to prevent contamination.

8. Storage
 Refrigeration
 Chain of Custody

9. Refrigeration
 Was the blood kit continuously stored in
one or more refrigerators ?
 Are there records indicating that the
refrigerators were set at the required
temperature?
 Was the blood kit taken out of storage
before being tested?
 If yes, were the blood tubes put
back in the refrigerator until the test
date.

10. Chain of Custody
 Are there records establishing where the
blood kit was at all times?
 Chain of Custody is a means of
accountability , that shows who
obtained the evidence , where and
when the evidence was obtained, who
secured the evidence, who had control
or possession of the evidence.

11. Chain of Custody
 Is every person who handled the blood
samples clearly identified in the chain of
custody?
 Are the actions taken by every person
listed on the chain of custody spelled
out?

12. Testing
 Gas Chromatography
 Calibration
 Analyst/Data
 Laboratory

13. Gas Chromatography
 What is Gas Chromatography?
 Gas chromatography (GC) is a
separation science. It is the
preeminent analytical tool used in
the forensic science arena for the
determination of alcohol in blood
samples.

14. Gas
Chromatography
 Head-space gas chromatography is a
“separation science” and relies on the
ability of the process to separate out
various compounds and measure
quantities so small that they cannot be
seen with the human eye. Small
mistakes in preparation of the sample
will lead to large mistakes in the
results.

15. Calibration
 Did the lab use proper calibration
procedures?
 To calibrate is to correlate the
readings of an instrument (the
chromatograph) with those of a
standard in order to check the
instrument's accuracy.

16. Analyst/Data
 Did the analysts review both the
electronic data and printed
chromatograms?
 All original paper and electronic data
needs to be preserved.

17. Laboratory
 What is there to consider about the lab
running the test?
 Is the lab accredited?
 Has the inspection report from the
accrediting body been produced?
 How many corrective actions reports have
been prepared for the toxicology section
of the lab in the last 1-5years?

18. Laboratory
 What type of software do they use to
generate printouts of the chromatograms?
 Has the lab had issues with the software
printing out incorrect information on the
written results? E.g.. Information from one
sample being attributed to another.
 Has the lab had instances of peaks that do
not appear to be from their sample being
tested?