Specimen Handling and Transportation
Delivery Address
During routine hours of operation, specimens can be delivered to the following address through the postal service or by a courier service:
University of Florida
Diagnostic Reference Laboratories/ Rocky Point Lab
4800 SW 35th Drive
Gainesville, FL 32608
After hours deliveries must be arranged in advance by telephoning the laboratory. If attempting to contact the laboratory outside of the normal hours of operation, dial 800-633-2122 and ask to speak with the pathology resident on call. For Hematopathology services, ask to speak with the Hematopathology attending physician on call. The operator will have your call returned as soon as possible.
Courier Services
In designated areas, specimen pickup and report delivery may be available through independent contractors. Contact the laboratory for details in arranging pick-up by a designated contractor. Pick-up may be initiated by directly contacting the designated courier(s) or by contacting our laboratory.
Federal Express transportation is available for overnight deliveries. Contact our laboratory for details.
Mailing Guidelines
Federal Express and U.S. Mail regulations require fluid specimen packaging to include the following:
- A watertight primary receptacle.
- A watertight secondary packaging.
- An absorbent material placed between the primary receptacle and the secondary packaging.
- A sturdy outside packaging constructed of corrugated fiberboard, wood, metal or plastic.
Note: When sending slides and/or paraffin blocks, be sure to cushion them sufficiently to reduce the possibility of breakage or crushing during transport/shipment.
Ambient Specimens
These specimens do not require special temperatures or handling. If you have any concerns regarding the effect of extreme weather conditions on specimens, please contact our laboratory.
Specimen Labeling
When submitting a sample for processing please include the following information on the specimen label:
- Patient's full name.
- Patient's SS # and/or Medical Record #.
- For non-body fluid submissions, type of specimen and/or tissue site.
- Collection date of specimen.
Refrigerated (with coolpack) Specimens
Place the specimen and coolpack (cold pack) in a sealed plastic bag. Care should be taken to buffer (e.g., a paper towel) the cold pack from the specimens. Label the outside of the packaging: "REFRIGERATED SPECIMEN - DO NOT FREEZE."
Frozen Specimens
Place five pounds of dry ice around specimen(s). Use only plastic (not glass) vials and do not fill vial more than three-fourths full.
Shipping Specimens via Federal Express
The following information is taken from documents provided by Federal Express
All shipments containing body fluids tendered through Federal Express must meet CFR packaging regulations. (See U.S. Rule #125 for requirements.)
#125 BODILY FLUIDS SHIPMENTS
- A. Shipments of bodily fluids (blood, plasma, semen, urine, tissue, excrements, etc.) either human or animal, must be packaged in shipper provided containers able to withstand leakage of contents, shocks, pressure changes, and other conditions incidental to ordinary handling in transportation.
- B. Outer packaging must contain sufficient absorbent materials to absorb the entire content of the inner packaging (specimens) in the event of any leakage.
- C. Federal Express reserves the right to refuse any bodily fluid shipment not packaged as stated in A. and B. above, which in turn is not tendered in a Federal Express Clinical Pac container. An exception is shipments having packaging dimensions too large to fit entirely within a Clinical Pac, allowing for proper closure of the Clinical Pac, may be shipped in shipper provided packaging alone but the packaging must bear a Federal Express Clinical Pac Label to be acceptable for transport by Federal Express.
- UF DRL Note: The special Clinical Pac Label for large shipper prepared packages can be obtained by calling 1-800-GoFedEx (463-3339) or via the FedEx website
As it is unnecessary to label packages containing dry ice for preservation of clinical materials as "hazardous," we ask that this be avoided. Federal Express information indicates that the following MUST BE printed on the outside of a package containing dry ice:
DRY ICE, (number) LBS.
UN1845
FOR MEDICAL USE