Order of blood Draw-CLSI guidelines

The Order of Blood Draw in Phlebotomy

Order of blood draw in multiple tube collection CLSI guidelines

The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) has a guideline on the order of blood draw. The guideline is called GP41: Collection of Diagnostic Venous Blood Specimens. The guideline recommends the following order of draw:

Phlebotomy is the process of drawing blood from a vein. It is a common medical procedure that is used to collect blood for a variety of tests. When drawing blood, it is important to follow the correct order of draw to avoid cross-contamination of the samples.

The order of blood draw is as follows:

1. Blood Culture Tubes or Vials-
2. Coagulation Tubes (Blue-Top Tubes)Sodium citrate tubes. 
3. Serum Tubes without Clot Activator or Gel (Red-Top tubes)
4. Serum Tubes with Clot Activator or Gel (Gold or Tiger Top Tubes)
5. Heparin Tubes (Green-Top Tubes)
6. EDTA Tubes (Lavender-Top Tubes)
7. Fluoride Tubes (Gray-Top Tubes)

Color of the cap	Anticoagulant	order
	Transport Media	FIRST
	3.2 % Sodium citrate	SECOND
	None (Tubes with gel separator & clot activator) red or yellow top	THIRD
	Heparin	FOURTH
	K2 EDTA/k3 EDTA	FIFTH
	Sodium fluoride & Potassium oxalate	SIXTH