Bloodborne Viruses - Collection, Shipping and Reporting

Specimen Collection Kits
Request Testing
Label Specimen
Ship Specimen
Retrieve Reports
Table: Specimen Collection and Shipping Instructions by Test Requested
 

Who Can Submit a Specimen?

The Wadsworth Center is a reference laboratory.  Use local or commercial laboratory services whenever available.  Specimens must be submitted by laboratories testing specimens from New York State patients, a licensed physician or other healthcare provider authorized to order HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing, or other submitters who are approved to submit samples to the Wadsworth Center.  Private individuals may not directly submit specimens to the Wadsworth Center.  

Specimen Collection Kits

Call the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Wadsworth Center Order Desk at (518)-474-4175 to request specimen collection kits. These kits provide supplies for shipping specimens for Pediatric HIV/HCV testing and Clinical HIV testing.  Contact the laboratory at 518-474-2163 if you have any issues with kit ordering.

• The Pediatric HIV/HCV testing kit includes a blood collection tube, specimen packaging, cold packs, insulated shipper and pre-paid shipping label.
• The Clinical HIV testing kit, for HIV diagnostic or HIV rapid test confirmation, includes lavender-top EDTA blood collection tubes and materials for shipping whole blood specimens at room temperature. 

For other specimen types or for specimens that need to be shipped on cold packs or on dry ice (e.g. HIV-2 viral load, HCV viral load), submitters must provide their own collection and shipping supplies.  
 

Request Testing

Request testing using the Health Commerce System (HCS) and the Clinical Laboratory Information Management System (CLIMS) following these instructions.  

This method provides many advantages over paper submission including specimen tracking, notification when results become available, online access to results, and access to the testing catalog. Should you encounter difficulty, please contact CLIMS. 

If you do not have access to HCS/CLIMS, complete the Infectious Disease Requisition (IDR) form DOH-4463 as completely as possible.  The form is a fillable PDF and designed to be downloaded and accessed in an Adobe PDF reader.  Please be aware that completing the form using a browser’s default PDF reader can create discrepancies in the date fields.

For either method, complete all required fields. In addition, complete race, ethnicity, current gender identity, ordering health care provider’s full name, address and National Provider Identifier (NPI). If applicable, enter relevant treatment (e.g. ARV treatment, PrEP) and pregnancy status with trimester in the appropriate Clinical and Exposure History fields.     

• For pediatric HIV diagnostic testing, complete all fields designated as ‘Required for HIV Testing of Infants’ in the Clinical and Exposure History section.
• For rapid test confirmation, check HIV diagnostic testing or HCV RNA, as appropriate, and enter the rapid test type in ‘Submitter Lab Findings’.
• For HIV-2 RNA testing, indicate Qualitative (diagnostic) or Quantitative (viral load).
• For dried blood spot specimens, enter ‘Dried Blood Spot’ in the source field.
   

Label Specimen

Label each specimen with two unique identifiers (e.g. name, date of birth, patient number) and collection date.  These identifiers must match the requisition form exactly.  A unique identifying code may be used for anonymous HIV testing; however, this testing may only be requested from NYSDOH-approved anonymous testing sites.  Failure to properly label the sample will result in rejection of the sample and a request will be made for another specimen.
 

Collect or Process Specimen

See Table for collection, processing and shipping instructions. Collect a full tube (plastic tubes only) to allow all necessary tests to be completed.  The laboratory accepts dried blood spot (DBS) specimens to confirm reactive HIV and HCV rapid antibody tests.  DBS submitters must register with the laboratory or NYSDOH before submitting DBS for confirmatory testing.  

Ship Specimen

For blood tubes, package according to the directions supplied with the specimen mailing kit or according to IATA regulations. We recommend sending specimens by courier to the address listed below; U.S. Postal Service shipping is not recommended. 
For DBS, package according to the training instructions and ship via U.S. Postal Service or courier.  
The laboratory receives specimens Mon – Fri and is closed on all NYS holidays; please ship with this in mind.   
David Axelrod Institute
Bloodborne Viruses Laboratory
Wadsworth Center, NYSDOH
120 New Scotland Ave.
Albany, NY 12208

Retrieve Reports

Access electronic patient reports on HCS/CLIMS following these instructions. There are significant advantages to retrieving electronic reports, including immediate 24/7 access after testing is completed and optional email notification when a report has been posted (see ‘Email Notifications’ Quick Start Instruction).

Table: Specimen Collection and Shipping Instructions by Test Requested