What's the matter with the jelly-like appearance in the serum separation tube?

In the daily blood test work, after the blood collection, the medical staff often encounters a jelly-like appearance in the yellow tube containing the serum separation gel. What is going on? Some people questioned that it was because of the addition of serum separation gel. In fact, this is really not related to serum separation gel. Why do you say that? The following will give you a detailed explanation.

After separating the serum, it was found that there was a jelly-like appearance in the tube, which was mainly seen in three cases:

 I. Short storage time after blood collection

The coagulation process is very complicated. After the blood is drawn out, the reason for coagulation is that the blood contains coagulation factors. After being activated, it is converted into thrombin, which catalyzes the conversion of fibrinogen into fibrin. If the blood sample is placed for a short time after the blood sample is taken, and the blood does not reach the coagulation effect, it will be centrifuged on the machine. During this process, the blood cell components will leave the fibrin network, such as red blood cells, platelets, and the lack of phospholipid surface. Fibrin cannot shrink. , its specific gravity is small, and it remains in the serum layer after centrifugation, which will lead to jelly. It is recommended to place the blood sample for about 20 minutes before centrifugation.

 II.The use of heparin anticoagulants

     Many people will be injected with drugs such as heparin because of their own diseases, and heparin drugs will inhibit platelet aggregation in the body, enhance the binding of antithrombin in the body, and accelerate the inactivation. In this way, in the tube with separation gel and coagulant added, and the blood injected with heparin, the blood sample in the tube cannot be coagulated normally, and it will naturally appear jelly after centrifugation.

III.The impact of the patient's disease

Some people have macroglobulinemia, in which plasma cells abnormally proliferate large amounts of immunoglobulins, which are not part of normal antibody function, and can lead to partial tissue degeneration, which in turn affects the normal functioning of organs. If the concentration of immunoglobulin is too high, it will directly affect the blood concentration and viscosity. At this time, the blood drawn at this time will be centrifuged after being placed, and it will cause jelly due to the problem of viscosity.

In clinical blood testing, it is a common phenomenon that the serum is jelly-like, which will inevitably affect the efficiency and delay the time. It is easy to solve the problem when the cause is known, and the occurrence of such problems can be prevented in the future.

Desheng Biochemical is a manufacturer of blood collection tube reagents. The raw materials include serum separation gel, heparin sodium, heparin lithium, EDTA potassium salt, etc. These raw materials are used in in vitro vacuum test tubes, not directly injected into the human body. When purchasing, you must express your needs clearly. You are welcome to inquire for details!