How to ship blood to Health Diagnostics - practical questions...

[Patrick*]

OK, I received the Methylation Panel kit from Health Diagnostics in New Jersey, but the instructions are unclear on a couple of points, and Health Diagnostics hasn't responded to my email questions. Perhaps someone with experience here can answer these questions?

1. Does the blood need to be shipped with dry ice? The instructions say nothing about that, but I thought I'd read that somewhere. The kit consists of a small cardboard box with Styrofoam slots for the tubes, and also a HUGE plastic bag in which the box is supposed to be placed for shipping. This makes me wonder if the rest of the bag is supposed to be filled with something...like dry ice?

2. Will commercial labs (like Quest) draw the blood and then hand the tubes back to you for shipping, or do you have to get your doctor to draw it?

Any other practical advice on this topic would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Sushi]

OK, I received the Methylation Panel kit from Health Diagnostics in New Jersey, but the instructions are unclear on a couple of points, and Health Diagnostics hasn't responded to my email questions. Perhaps someone with experience here can answer these questions?

1. Does the blood need to be shipped with dry ice? The instructions say nothing about that, but I thought I'd read that somewhere. The kit consists of a small cardboard box with Styrofoam slots for the tubes, and also a HUGE plastic bag in which the box is supposed to be placed for shipping. This makes me wonder if the rest of the bag is supposed to be filled with something...like dry ice?

2. Will commercial labs (like Quest) draw the blood and then hand the tubes back to you for shipping, or do you have to get your doctor to draw it?

Any other practical advice on this topic would be appreciated. Thanks!

I am shipping to them today though for another test. I have done a couple of methylation panels however, and you do not need dry ice. My kit for the test I am doing now includes a small freezer pack and I remember putting one in my methylation panel tests too, though I am not sure if it is necessary for the methylation panel as long as the blood gets there the fastest that FedEx can do.

Some labs like Quest and Labcorp will draw for you and either ship it themselves or give it back to you. Call a local office and ask. Otherwise, many hospitals will draw for you as a courtesy and give you the kit back to ship or ship it themselves. I would rather ship it myself though as who knows how long it will hang around the hospital before pick up.

As far as putting the box in the plastic mailer, that is all you do. The mailer is made for certain biological samples and the kits for these vary in size, but usually there is just a lot of empty space. Take it unsealed to a Kinko's or other FedEx drop point and the people there will help you seal it if you have questions.

Good luck!
Sushi

 

[Patrick*]

Thanks Sushi! That's exactly what I needed to know.

 

[Patrick*]

Wanted to update this thread for any future visitors with the same question.

Re Question 2: I called around and Quest will NOT give the tubes back to you or mail them for you. They will only draw blood if it's going to tested at their facilities, or a facility with whom they have a contract. Health Diagnostics is not one of them.

However, my local hospital has a lab that will draw blood and ship it for you (as long as you have the Fed Ex package completed and prepared). Like Quest, however, they will not give the tubes back to you and let you ship it yourself.

 

[Vance]

I'm going through the same process today, for how to get blood drawn for the methylation panel. I called CPL, and they eventually told me they'd do it if I presented a doctor's requisition. But the two people I talked to didn't seem very certain about it, which gave me doubts that I wouldn't run into trouble once I got there. I also don't have a requisition on hand because I went through Dr. Lynch's site, and none is included in the kit they sent out.

I then called a local chain of blood donation clinics. They offered to do it without the doctor's req. I offered them a blood donation for their trouble. ;-)

Another thing about the test -- the instructions say to include payment with the submission. There's nothing in the kit that indicates that Dr. Lynch prepaid it. I called HDRI, and they confirmed they bill Dr. Lynch directly. However, there's nothing in the kit that even indicates the test was ordered by Dr. Lynch. So I'm going to include a note saying so.

 

[thinpaperwings]

Vance, how did that work out for you? I'm in the same boat: I ordered the test through Ben Lynch, but the package didn't include anything saying that I'd prepaid it. Did the note work for you?

 

[globalpilot]

I'm looking at Dr Lynchs site and I see you can order the MTHFR test. Where do you order the

I'm going through the same process today, for how to get blood drawn for the methylation panel. I called CPL, and they eventually told me they'd do it if I presented a doctor's requisition. But the two people I talked to didn't seem very certain about it, which gave me doubts that I wouldn't run into trouble once I got there. I also don't have a requisition on hand because I went through Dr. Lynch's site, and none is included in the kit they sent out.

I then called a local chain of blood donation clinics. They offered to do it without the doctor's req. I offered them a blood donation for their trouble. ;-)

Another thing about the test -- the instructions say to include payment with the submission. There's nothing in the kit that indicates that Dr. Lynch prepaid it. I called HDRI, and they confirmed they bill Dr. Lynch directly. However, there's nothing in the kit that even indicates the test was ordered by Dr. Lynch. So I'm going to include a note saying so.

Vance,
I'd love to order the methylation panel through Dr Lynch rather than my doctor due to the faster turnaround.
But I can't find the methylation panel on his site. Where can I find it ?

Thanks,
GP

 

[thinpaperwings]

GP, you can find it here: http://www.seekinghealth.com/methylation-pathway-panel-vitamin-diagnostics.html

 

[Aileen]

anyone in Canada know how to get blood drawn for this test? I'm in Ontario and have been told by my local lab that they cannot draw blood except under the order of an Ontario MD.

 

[globalpilot]

anyone in Canada know how to get blood drawn for this test? I'm in Ontario and have been told by my local lab that they cannot draw blood except under the order of an Ontario MD.

Gamma Dyna Care in the KW area does it for me.

 

[Vance]

Glad you found the link on Dr. Lynch's site.

To your question thinpaperwings... Everything turned out OK. I think it's probably a good idea to put the note in there, saying it's for him.

Prepare to wait a lifetime to get your results... I don't remember exactly how long it was, but it was well over a month. I "finally" called after 2-3 weeks, and got the forecast of another 2-3 weeks (which they stuck to).

But having said that, the information it contains is worth it.