Specimen HandlingQuestion 67 of 100
An unlabeled tube arrives in the laboratory with a completed requisition attached. What is the correct action?
a.Reject the specimen and request recollection
b.Ask the phlebotomist who drew it to label it now
c.Process it and hold the result until labeling is confirmed
d.Label it from the requisition and process it
Explanation
An unlabeled specimen cannot be positively linked to a patient, so it is rejected and recollected, and the event is documented. Labeling after the fact from a requisition or from memory is exactly how patients receive another patient's results. Only irreplaceable specimens such as cerebrospinal fluid have a special resolution process, and whole blood is not in that category.
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