Routine: 2 hours
Urgent: 1 hour

Available 24 hours a day.

6.0 mL blood in a LAVENDER top tube.
See link for instructions for identification and labeling of Transfusion Service specimens. Sample Information (Opens in a new window)

Less than 4 months old: 1 to 2 mL blood in a LAVENDER top tube.
4 months to 3 years: 3 mL blood in a LAVENDER top tube.

Done as part of an ABO, Rh (Blood Type).
ABO type determined by presence or absence of A and B blood group antigens on red blood cells as well as presence or absence of the expected reciprocal ABO blood group antibodies in the serum.
Rh type determined by the presence or absence of the Rh (D) antigen on red blood cells using a directly agglutinating anti-D reagent. Routine weak D, antiglobulin (anti-IgG) test is not performed.

The patient's cells are tested against known antisera to establish ABO blood group and Rh type. Although the development of ABO antigens and regularly occurring antibodies is progressive during the first 18 months of life, and regressive in the last decade of life, ABO and Rh type do not change, except in non-identical marrow transplantation, or transiently if the patients are transfused with large amounts of donor blood of a group and type other than their own.

ABO and Rh Type
Type and Rh