My blood is in my refridgerator and I dont know how to ship it

[Vincent]

I was approved through the lyme patient assistance program and they sent me a check 2 days ago. I asked them what do I do next and they said get a requisition form from my doctor then go and have the specimen collected - that was done today. The problem is that I'm reading that fedex has special requirements to ship the blood. Several weeks ago I did some IgG food testing and Genova sent me a test kit with package and a Styrofoam container.

Was igenex suppose to send me a test kit and why did no one tell me about this? My dr's office printed out the collection instructions for the hospital and I took those with me. It has to be mailed no later than Tuesday..... What do I do? My dr's office also sent me a fedex account number to cover the shipping; I assume this is their account or igenex's? The Genova kit had a prepaid overnight waybill; I don't even know by what service I'm suppose to ship it, ground, air, etc.

 

[Sushi]

@Vincent

Why not call Igenex and ask for instructions? I think I used a kit with them but you may be able to put your blood tubes in whatever type of home packing they recommend. Don't forget to ask about cooling, freezing, centrifuging etc. so that you send it in the form they can use it.

They should be able to tell you what FedEx mailer you need and how to fill out the paperwork. You can get the special mailers from any FedEx office like Kinkos. Once you know what to do, it is easy.

Sushi

 

[SickOfSickness]

You may get some help at your local LabCorp. They drew my sample and sent it off to IgeneX, but I think I had a kit. If the sample can wait longer, maybe you can get a kit overnighted or they could somehow do it without .

 

[Vincent]

They have specific standards to ship blood:

http://www.fedex.com/us/packaging/guides/Clinical_fxcom.pdf

General Packaging Requirements
For liquid clinical samples, you must include four layers
of packaging:
1.
Primary watertight inner receptacle.
Use watertight containers for liquid specimens with
a positive closure such as a screw-on, snap-on or
push-on lid, taped for an additional seal. If you
place multiple fragile primary receptacles in
a single secondary receptacle, they must be individually wrapped or separated to prevent
contact between them.
2.
Absorbent material.
Place absorbent material between the primary and secondary receptacles,
using enough material to absorb the entire contents of all primary receptacles. Acceptable absorbent
materials include cellulose wadding, cotton balls, super-absorbent packets and paper towels.

3.
Secondary watertight inner receptacle.
Use a watertight sealed plastic bag, plastic canister or
screw-cap can.

4.
Sturdy outer packaging.
Use rigid outer packaging constructed of corrugated fiberboard, wood, metal or plastic, appropriately sized for the contents. Chipboard or paperboard boxes are unacceptable outer packaging.

 

[Esther12]

Sympathies but tbh... funny thread title.

Probably best to look into this before you start filling up pots with blood!

I've been critical of some of IgeneX's practices elsewhere. Best of luck with everything, but I'd advise that you stay critical and cautious of any claims that are made to you.

 

[Vincent]

I emailed my dr after I received the grant from the Ferndale Foundation and asked them if we could take care of this when I came in for acupuncture. She told me they planned on getting everything setup for me then, since I didn't know what to do. The normal office lady was not there and it was a temporary employee who was sympathetic but not terribly knowledgeable. Having given my dr's office 3 days notice I expect them to have already done the research and tell me what to do.

The igenex website is hard to understand and not very helpful.

 

[Sushi]

@Vincent

The IgeneX kit will contain all that packing material. If you can get the kit, I guess the question would be how long you can store the blood in your refrigerator. Probably calling them would work best.

Sushi

 

[Vincent]

I'm going to call them on Monday.

 

[Esther12]

I emailed my dr after I received the grant from the Ferndale Foundation and asked them if we could take care of this when I came in for acupuncture. She told me they planned on getting everything setup for me then, since I didn't know what to do. The normal office lady was not there and it was a temporary employee who was sympathetic but not terribly knowledgeable. Having given my dr's office 3 days notice I expect them to have already done the research and tell me what to do.

The igenex website is hard to understand and not very helpful.

Best of luck with everything. Personally, I'm really not keen on stuff that doesn't have good evidence of it's value, and feel like a lot of people take advantage of patient's desperation to get better, and some of this stuff sounds dodgy. I realise that being told this without my offering any great alternative may not feel terribly helpful, but I thought it would be best to be honest. Real, real sympathies... I know how hard it is to be facing health problems without having good and reliable doctors to turn to.