ADAMTS13 Activity / Inhibitor (IgG)

General Information

Note: If you suspect MAHA/TTP, please contact the UHB Haematology Consultant via Switchboard for urgent advice. Tel: 0121 627 200.

For urgent samples, Tel: 0121 371 5988 (Special Coagulation Lab at QE) or 0121 371 6920 out of hours. Samples can be sent for processing 24 hours a day.

External Requests:

For external requests please click Here for ADAMTS13 request form. Please complete all information fully

Sample packing and transportation:

Frozen plasma should be sent on dry ice using an insulated container to ensure that it remains frozen during transport. Please refer to the preanalytical variables section of the BSH guidelines on the laboratory aspects of assays used in haemostasis and thrombosis¹.

As an alternative the bio-freeze container system can be used to ensure samples remain frozen in transit. These have been locally validated to maintain samples at -20^oC for up to 12 hours  providing they have been preconditioned in a -80^oC freezer for 24 hours prior to use.

Disclaimer:

Please note failure to use an appropriate transit container may affect sample integrity, thus the accuracy of results cannot be guaranteed.  Furthermore, samples packaged incorrectly that arrive in a thawed state cannot be tested.

Please contact the laboratory on 0121 371 5988 (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) if you require any further information.

1) Baker, P., Platton, S., Gibson, C., Gray, E., Jennings, I., Murphy, P., Laffan, M. and British Society for Haematology, Haemostasis and Thrombosis Task Force (2020), Guidelines on the laboratory aspects of assays used in haemostasis and thrombosis. Br. J. Haematol., 191: 347-362.

https://doi.org/10.1111/bjh.16776

Samples that meet the following criteria will not be processed:

• Haemolysed, clotted, underfilled or overfilled samples.
• Samples >12 hours old from the time of collection.
• Samples received from other hospital laboratories that have been frozen and thawed.
• Samples which fail the minimum data set.

Assay limitations:

• Samples containing EDTA cannot be used because EDTA is a strong inhibitor of ADAMTS13 function

Underfilled samples for ADAMTS13 Activity only:

• Underfilled samples CAN be accepted for ADAMTS13 Activity only providing the sample tube is at least half full.