A blood specimen is received in the laboratory for a PCR ass…
A blood specimen is received in the laboratory for a PCR assay to detect cytomegalovirus (a DNA virus) on a Wednesday night. The PCR assay will not be performed until the next Monday morning. How should this specimen be stored to maintain the integrity of the nucleic acid prior to analysis?
Read DetailsA woman calls and asks that the results of her husband’s HIV…
A woman calls and asks that the results of her husband’s HIV viral load assay be faxed to her. She gives the technologist her husband’s name and medical record number along with the date the specimen was collected and her fax number. She states that she is calling for her husband and has his approval. Which of the following is the correct course of action for the technologist?
Read DetailsA patient with abnormally high iron levels is tested to dete…
A patient with abnormally high iron levels is tested to determine if hemachromatosis, specifically the C282Y mutation in the HFE gene, is the cause. The patient’s DNA is isolated from whole blood and amplified. Amplicons are then cut with Rsa1, and the resulting fragments are separated by gel electrophoresis. The lane containing the patient’s sample has three bands at 240 bp, 140 bp, and 110 bp. Controls were acceptable. Which of the following is the correct interpretation of these results?
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