Submit Specimen – Fungal Reference Laboratory

How to Submit a Specimen

Step 1. Complete Order Form

Fill out an Order Form ensuring that at least two specimen identifiers are included on both the order form and the specimen itself.

Step 2. Package Samples

Process and package specimens to meet the criteria below. Package the order form along with specimens. Please refer to the Test Menu for more information on acceptable specimens.

Microbial Culture and Susceptibility Tests

-Submit organism in pure culture on agar slants at room temperature or frozen culture cryovials on dry ice.

-RE: Frozen Isolates- Freeze at </= -65°C at their origin; then ship overnight with 5 pounds of dry ice for arrival Tuesday-Friday.

-The FRL does not accept weekend or holiday deliveries.

Antigen Tests

-Urine and BAL- submit in a sterile plastic screw cap container at 4C (e.g. wet ice, cold pack, or refrigerated) within 48 hours of collection, or frozen screw-cap vials on dry ice as described above.

-Serum- Collect into a serum separator tube (SST). Allow blood to clot for 30 minutes, then centrifuge. Pipette serum into a plastic, screw-cap vial and submit at 4C within 48 hours of collection, or frozen screw-cap vials on dry ice.

Molecular Tests

-Non-Blood Specimens- submit in a sterile plastic screw cap container at 4C within 48 hours of collection, or frozen screw-cap vials on dry ice as described above.

T.Spot TB Test:

*** NOTE: This is a short stability test and requires special handling. ***

– Submit 8ml peripheral blood in a sodium heparin (green top) tube at room temperature for testing within 48 hours of collection.

-For research studies only, it is acceptable to submit isolated PBMCs in culture cryovials on dry ice as described above.

Step 3. Ship/Deliver Samples

Shipping Instructions

-Ship specimens adhering to the above packaging criteria via courier service (FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc.) directly to the FRL at the address indicated below.

-Deliveries of specimens collected off-site should be made between 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Monday- Friday

The Fungal Reference Laboratory
University of Alabama at Birmingham
619 E 19^th Street South, Room W273
Birmingham, AL 35294-7331
Attention: Derek Moates/Sixto Leal
Telephone: (205) 999-5048
Website: https://sites.uab.edu/fungalreferencelab/
Email: FRL@uabmc.edu

Please feel free to contact us with questions on how to submit a specimen.

Local Courier Instructions

-All specimens handled by local courier should be delivered to the UAB Hospital Laboratories Outreach/Sendout/CFO Lab at the address below

-The courier should inform the attendant at the desk that this is a specimen for the UAB Fungal Reference Laboratory and is to be placed in the FRL box in their refrigerator. It should not be logged into their laboratory system. The specimen will be held until our laboratory personnel collect them.

UAB Hospital Laboratories Outreach/Sendout/CFO Lab (S299)
2nd Floor Spain-Wallace Building
Telephone: (205) 934-6440

Shipper’s Responsibility
The shipper is required to comply with the rules and regulations for the transport of medical specimens as set forth by the United States government, the government of the country of specimen origin, and the international regulatory agencies. Failure to follow instructions for packaging and shipping specimens can result in delay, loss, or destruction of your specimens. UAB Fungal Reference Laboratory will not be held responsible for any liability attributable to the shipping of improperly packaged specimens or failure to comply with legal authorities.

The shipper must comply with any applicable regulations set forth by the countries of specimen origin, transit national and/or international laws, and destination. Also the shipper must make fully aware to the company shipping the specimen any hazards/biohazards of the specimen contained within. Any violation of these laws and/or rules may result in penalty, both civil and criminal, and/or destruction of the specimen. UAB Fungal Reference Laboratory is not liable for these issues.

Shipper must properly identify, classify, package correctly, mark, and label all the contents of the shipment in accordance with the laws and regulations of the country of origin, transit, and destination.

Shipper’s personnel involved in the packaging and preparation of packages for transport of specimens must have received training to identify, classify, package correctly, mark, and label the said package and documents sent to UAB Fungal Reference Laboratory. All records of training must be available per request of UAB Fungal Reference Laboratory of any entity and/or representative of the UAB Hospital System. It is imperative that the said shipper’s employees be trained in packaging and labeling of specimens in accordance to USPHS (United Public Health Service, Division of Quarantine) and IATA (International Air Transport Association) specifically for international transportations. Within the United States, shippers must observe the specifications/rules/regulations of United States Customs/United States Dept of Transportation.