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Fasting is preferred, but not essential for most blood test, except mainly diabetes(min 8 hours fasting), Lipid profile (min 12 hours fasting), Triglycerides (min 12 hours fasting). Tea, coffee, alcohol intake and smoking are not permitted during this period. Reasonable amount of water intake is permitted.

For fasting Blood Glucose ‐ Overnight (about 8 hours) Fasting is essential After collection of this fasting sample, a known diabetic patient should have his usual medication and breakfast. For post‐prandial Blood Glucose‐ Blood is collected exactly 2hrs after completing your lunch.

This is one of the simplest laboratory tests to be made and yet one of the most important tests for diabetes, jaundice, UTI, haematuria, kidney diseases, etc. It may also be collected for pregnancy test, drug abuse, etc.

Patient Preparation:

Ideally private parts should be cleaned with soap and plenty of clean water and dried. Contamination with local discharges is to be avoided.

Types of specimens and collection:

• For routine and microscopy:

The first specimen in the morning is usually the best for most of the tests including pregnancy test. One may give fresh sample in the laboratory. Discard some amount of initial and last portion of urine and collect the middle portion (mid‐stream sample) in a container.

Round, wide mouth bottle of 25‐50 ml capacity with screw caps are suitable. These bottles are to be cleaned properly, rinsed with tap water, drained and dried. If microbiological examination and culture is to be done, the container must be sterilized; these are available from the laboratory.

• 24-hour urine collection:

This sample is usually required for protein quantification or for testing other excretory functions of the kidney. Collect urine in 2‐4 L container. When patient gets up in the morning, ask him/her to empty the bladder and discard this urine. Collect all urine passed thereafter in the container. Continue to collect urine till the patient gets up next morning and passes urine. Include this next day’s sample to the total volume of urine. Place this sample in refrigerator until it’s delivered to the laboratory for further analysis. Do not add any preservative of your own. This may interfere with certain test results.

In various respiratory infections like tuberculosis and pneumonia or even certain cancers, sputum examination is very important. Sputum is different from saliva. It is the material coughed up from lower respiratory tract.

Sample collected in early morning is preferable as it is obtained from respiratory passage. Rinse mouth and teeth with sterile water. Specimens should be collected preferably after deep intense cough. This test may have to be repeated for few consecutive days or as per the physician’s advice. 60‐100 ml, wide mouthed, straight sided bottle with screw caps or plastic covers are the best.

It is needed for diagnosis of infection, worms or parasites infestation or for the presence of blood.

Patient ideally must not take iron or meat for 5 days before collection of stool sample. Antihelminthic drugs or barium studies should also be avoided for 2 weeks before the test.

The semen should be collected after 3 days and no longer than 5 days of abstinence. The person should pass urine and empty bladder before ejaculation. Semen should be collected by masturbation in screw capped plastic container and delivered to the laboratory within one hour of collection while being kept close to the body to maintain temperature during transit interval. Please also note the time of collection of the sample