What Are The Components of A Blood Collection Set

Blood collection is a crucial part of the modern medical system. Medical diagnosis, disease screening, and clinical medication guidance are all based on blood sample testing. A blood collection set usually includes a blood collection needle, a vacuum blood collection tubes and a tube holder. Familiarity with the components and usage of blood collection sets is a core prerequisite for ensuring blood collection safety and preventing occupational exposure.

Components of a blood collection set

Blood collection needle

Blood collection needle is a tool used for drawing and collecting venous blood. It has double-ended needle-one end is close to the patient for drawing blood, and the other end has rubber sleeve sheath for collecting blood.

The rubber sleeve sheath for blood collection needle is typically made of latex rubber or latex free rubber (isoprene rubber). It has good sealing performance, elasticity performance and chemical resistance performance, which can prevent blood leakage and reduce the risk of cross-infection.

There are generally three types of blood collection needles: butterfly needle, straight needle (pen-type needle) and safety blood collection needle. Among them, safety blood collection needles can be further divided into retractable and shielded types based on their design, which can prevent medical users from needlestick.

Vacuum blood collection tubes

Vacuum blood collection tube is made of PET and is designed for collection blood. It’s rubber stopper is typically made of butyl rubber, which has excellent self-sealing and chemical stability performance, preventing blood leakage and not reacting with additives inside the tube.

The sealing components of blood collection tubes typically consist of a rubber stopper and a colored plastic cap. The color of the plastic cap plays a crucial role—by using different colors, medical personnel can distinguish the different additives pre-placed inside the blood collection tube. The following are the additives corresponding to plastic caps of different colors.

Tube holder

To ensure safe and efficient venous blood collections, the needle holder is an indispensable component of the blood collection system.

It generally has three types-normal type, safety type and luer lock type.

Normal tube holders only have simple threads; the blood collection needle is screwed in and secured to collect blood. However, after blood collection, medical users need to manually remove the needle, which poses a risk of needlestick and blood contact.

Safety tube holders have quick-release mechanism. After blood collection, medical users can simply push the push tab to automatically eject or lock the needle, effectively preventing users from needlestick.

Luer lock tube holders have luer lock connector at the front end and typically pre-attached a needle with a rubber sheath. This type of tube holder is designed for connecting indwelling needles, butterfly blood collection needles, or central venous catheters.