HNL Genomics

Specimen Requirements

These specimen requirements are for non-prenatal patients. For details on prenatal specimen requirements, please refer to the prenatal specimen section below.

Please send ONE of the following types of specimens:

  • Whole blood: purple-top (EDTA) tube, minimum of 3 ml. Whole blood should be stored at 4°C until shipped.
  • Genomic DNA: minimum of 3 µg (at a concentration of at least 30 ng/µl), preferably in TE solution.
  • Fibroblasts: minimum of 2 confluent T-25 flasks. Please fill all flasks to capacity with cell culture media.
  • Saliva: Saliva for CNV (highly recommend whole blood for CNV). Only samples collected in Oragene DNA Self-Collection Kit or Oragene Saliva Collection Kit for Young Children are accepted (www.dnagenotek.com).

These specimen requirements are for non-prenatal patients. For details on prenatal specimen requirements, please refer to the prenatal specimen section below.

Please send ONE of the following types of specimens:

  • Whole blood: purple-top (EDTA) tube, minimum of 3 ml. Whole blood should be stored at 4°C until shipped.
  • Genomic DNA: minimum of 3 µg (at a concentration of at least 30 ng/µl), preferably in TE solution.

These specimen requirements are for prenatal patients. 

Please send ONE of the following types of specimens:

  • Cultured cells: minimum of 2 confluent T-25 flasks derived from amnio or CVS samples. Please fill all flasks to capacity with cell culture media.
  • Genomic DNA: minimum of 3 µg (at a concentration of at least 30 ng/µl), preferably in TE solution.

HNL Genomics highly recommends including a maternal sample for maternal cell contamination studies with all prenatal tests. Maternal sample requirements are as listed above in the Non-Prenatal Specimens section.


Bone Marrow Aspirate
  • Collect in EDTA tube
  • NGS Myeloid panel, FLT3 - 1 mL Bone Marrow Aspirate
Peripheral Blood
  • NGS Myeloid panel, FLT3 - 1 mL EDTA blood 
  • BCR-ABL - 4 mLs EDTA blood
  • JAK2 - 1 mL EDTA blood
FFPE Block
  • One H&E slide and one FFPE block OR 4-10 unstained slides cut at 5um
  • Minimum Tumor Content = 20% tumor cells
  • One H&E slide plus a minimum of four unstained slides cut at 5μm.

Please view the requirements based on the following specimen types:

Bone Marrow Aspirate
  • 1–2 mL sodium heparin tube (No lithium heparin)
Peripheral Blood
  • 1–2 mL sodium heparin tube (No lithium heparin)
FFPE Block
  • Her2/Neu:  Two unstained slides cut at 5μm
  • NHL Panel: Nine unstained slides cut at 5μm
Hematology Oncology
  • Hematology Oncology: NGS Myeloid panel, FLT3
    • 1 mL EDTA blood or Bone Marrow Aspirate
  • Hematology Oncology: BCR-ABL
    • 4 mLs EDTA blood
  • Hematology Oncology: JAK2
    • 1 mL EDTA blood

  • Minimum Volume: 7-10 mL whole blood
  • Container: Streck Cell-Free BCT, collect two tubes
  • Collection: Specimen must be collected at or after 10 weeks gestation
Specimens from Outside North America 

Please send genomic DNA: a minimum of 3 µg (at a concentration of at least 30 ng/µl), preferably in TE solution. HNL Genomics does not recommend shipping whole blood or cultured cells from any location other than the United States, Canada, or Mexico.

Specimen Rejection Causes

The following list represents some possible causes for specimen rejection. 


  • Improperly labeled specimen (minimum of two patient identifiers)
  • Inappropriate specimen type
  • Incomplete or incorrect test request form (i.e. no test marked)
  • Insufficient volume for analysis
  • Specimen has leaked in transit
  • Specimen without a test order
  • All sample types should be shipped at ambient temperature via an overnight courier.
  • Please review the instructions on the shipping page to ensure that your shipment is received in good condition by HNL Genomics (CTGT).
  • Please note that genomic DNA is accepted only from CLIA-certified laboratories or laboratories meeting equivalent requirements.


If any of the guidelines for these processes are not met, the specimen may be rejected, or the test may be placed on hold. HNL Genomics will contact the client for resolution.

Additional Resources