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Specimen Collection Manual: Bone Marrow Aspirates

Bone Marrow Exam, Unilateral, Bone Marrow Exam, Bilateral

Instructions

Material/Supplies

• Beaumont Hospital Bone Marrow Kit (Outreach Only).

Hazardous Materials

• 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin.

Patient Preparation

• Inpatients:
  • Farmington Hills inpatients are scheduled in EPIC by ordering physicians.
  • Grosse Pointe inpatients are scheduled in EPIC by ordering physicians.
  • Royal Oak inpatients are scheduled in EPIC by ordering physicians.
  • Troy inpatients are scheduled through Endoscopy at 248-964-5122.
• Outpatients:
  • Outpatient bone marrows are performed Monday through Friday only at designated time slots.
  • Outpatient bone marrow procedures must be scheduled through the appointment center at 248-577-9700 for specimen procurement.
• Outreach:
  • Outreach clients may submit aspirate and biopsy specimens through Beaumont Laboratory.
  • Outreach specimens are accepted Monday through Friday. Specimen pickups must be scheduled through Client Services at 800-551-0488, 24 hours in advance of bone marrow procedure.

Orders for bone marrow MUST contain an established diagnosis or sign/symptoms. All bone marrow requests must be applicable ICD-10 code entered into the Laboratory Information System upon order entry. While R/O (Rule Out) is often a useful way to communicate your suspicion to the consulting hematopathologists, it is NOT sufficient.

Specimen Collection Criteria

• Allow bone marrow aspirate smears to completely dry before placing them into the provided slide holders. Complete drying reduces artifact.
• Confirm all slides and tubes are properly labeled (patient's full first name, last name, date of birth, date of service, and sample type). Include TIME and SITE (Left, Right) on container.
• The information on the specimen must match the information on the requisition. If a discrepancy is identified, testing may be delayed until specimen verification can be obtained.
• Pack the slide holders together with the Green-top Sodium Heparin and Lavender-top EDTA tubes into the biohazard bag.
• Place the bone marrow core biopsy and aspirate clot into the B-Plus Fixative or neutral-buffered formalin container(s). Make sure the lid is properly sealed and closed tightly.
• All specimens should be shipped to Beaumont Laboratory on the day of aspiration. Shipping delays may compromise cell viability.

Rejection Criteria

• Additional orders (Cytogenetics, Flow Cytometry) may be canceled if insufficient aspirate is obtained.

Reference

Applicable Tests:

• Bone Marrow Exam - Unilateral (BMUN), Bilateral (BMBI)

Contacts

Last Updated

1/3/2020