Vacutainer Tubes - Order of Draw

Proper specimen collection is critical to obtaining valid laboratory results. Specimens must be collected in the appropriate tubes and in the proper order.

Tubes should be drawn in the following order:

TUBE		ADDITIVE
red		none
yellow		clot activator / gel for serum separation
light blue		sodium citrate
green		heparin (lithium or sodium)
lavender		EDTA
gray		potassium oxalate/sodium fluoride
dark blue		metal free