The sender is liable for the goods to be transported (i.e. sender is liable to recourse in case of damage/costs caused by samples that are not properly packed).
If requirements are not met, there is a risk of your shipment being returned to you by the courier company.
Please remember to pack your shipment according to EU regulations (European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road, ADR, and International Air Transport Association, IATA):
Generally, transport containers that are transparent, break-proof and contain absorbent material for leakage protection should be used and then packed, together with the submission form and cushioning material (not provided by the lab), in the transport (courier) box (min. dimension of 100x100x100 mm). Volume restriction: sample of 1000 ml (applies to liquid samples) or a total weight of 4 kg (applies to illiquid samples). LABOKLIN provides such protective outer packaging free of charge.
There are 2 possible categories of samples. The outer package needs to be tagged according to the respective category with the labels shown in the illustration above.
An exempt animal specimen is a patient sample for which there is minimal likelihood that pathogens are present (e.g. blood, serum or formalin-fixed tissue samples). Classification must depend on professional judgement which is based on the anamnesis, the signs, the patient’s individual circumstances and local endemic conditions. In case of doubt, it is recommended to ship as infectious substance of Category B.
Infectious category B samples (swabs, urine, faeces etc.) must be marked as “Biological substance, Category B” and “UN 3373”; while the specification “UN 3373” needs to be in a rhomb of at least 5 cm x 5 cm of size. The edge of the rhomb must be at least 2 mm wide and the letter height of both specifications must be at least 6 mm.
Important:
Please adhere to your local national regulations as well as to the EU regulations concerning the transport of the biological samples no matter whether you send them per post or courier. In different countries different rules can apply.
For shipment from a non-EU country, please contact LABOKLIN in advance. Should you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact your local LABOKLIN representative or contact us directly: service(at)laboklin.com.
For certain tests, it is necessary to cool or freeze the samples after collection. The cold chain must not be interrupted until the sample arrives at the laboratory.
How necessary cooling of the sample is indicated:
On the submission forms, samples that need to be refrigerated are marked with “!” behind the name of the service. If freezing is required, it is explicitly stated. If there is a mark for refrigeration in services that require the submission of several materials, often only one of them needs to be cooled. In this case, there is an additional “!” behind the material that must be cooled. If all of the materials which need to be submitted must be refrigerated, you will find the “!” mark only behind the name of the service.
Examples:
„Pre-OP Screening ! CP!+S+EB/1ml“: only citrate plasma must be sent in refrigerated
„PPID Profile ! EP!+S!+NaFB/2ml“: EDTA plasma and serum must be sent in refrigerated
„Large Vitamin Profile ! S+EB/3ml“: serum and EDTA blood must be sent in refrigerated
On this website and in the compendium, the need for cooling/freezing is always indicated in text form.
The samples are neither cooled during transport by post nor by courier. Therefore, send samples which need to be cooled/frozen with a cold/ice pack and, if necessary, in an
additional polystyrene box.
It should be noted that not only the cold/ice packs but also the samples must be brought to the right temperature before transport, as the cooling/freezing capacity of the packs and the box alone is not sufficient to adequately refrigerate or freeze samples.
You can purchase a special box from Laboklin; it consists of a polystyrene box and a special sample cooling/freezing pack, which can be used to cool 2 sample tubes all around. When you purchase this box, it will be personalised for your practice/clinic and will be returned to you free of charge each time we receive your samples.
Please do not leave any needles in the tubes!
Please do not seal the tubes! If protective covers/transport containers are used, the lids will remain securely closed.