Joe Kleiner, BD, Becton, Dickinson & Co. invented vacutainer tube in 1949.
The Vacutainer’s blood collection tube is made of sterilized glass or plastic.
Vacutainer tubes can have a few additives. Anticoagulants are one example.
PRINCIPLE VACUTAINER TUBES
The pressure difference between blood vessels’ and the vacuum within the tubes is what makes vacutainer tubes. This forces blood through the tubes
Two ends make up the vacutainer’s needle. The rubber coating protects one end while the rubber on the other allows for easy inserting into your vein.
The inner needle pokes through the rubber caps of the Vacutainer tubes, drawing blood into the holder. This will aid in blood collection.
The label on each tube will indicate the volume of blood that must be drawn. It is important to keep the right blood-to-additive balance.
Remove the tube from the vein before you can remove it.
The role of the vacutainer tube is determined by its color-coded caps. These caps are chosen based on test results.
This list contains the color codes for the tubes and Additives.
| S.No. | COLOR CODES | ADDITIVE | COMMONLY USED FOR |
| 1. ) | Purple / Lavender | EDTA (Ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid) | Cross match. CBC, BLOOD TYPING (Rh Factor & Screening). Red Cell Indices, Hb ESR using Wintrobe’s method. |
| 2. ) | Light blue | Tri-Sodium Citrate (Blood/Anticoagulant ratio 9:1) | Prothrombin Time (APTT), Activated Partially Tomboplastin Time (APTT), Fibrinogen Trimbin Time (FTC) and other blood Coagulation tests. |
| 3. ) | Light green | Lithium Heparin | Basic Metabolic Panels, Comprehensive Metabolic Panels or other plasma determination tests. |
| 4. ) | Royal Blue | None/ Di-sodium EDTA | Trace elements like Cu, Zn and other Toxicology. Nutrient determination. |
| 5. ) | Gold (commonly called Serum Separator tube). | Activator for activating polymer gel and powdered glass cloth | Biochemistry assays include CMP, LFT, and BMP. |
| 6. ) | Red | Powdered Glass Clot Activator | CMP, BMP, and Lipid Profile. |
| 7. ) | Dark green | Sodium Heparin | Analysis and treatment of blood gases, alpha TNF, lymphocyte immunotherapy, etc. |
| 8. ) | Gray | Sodium Fluoride | Blood Sugar testing, Toxicology tests etc. |
| 9. ) | Black | TriSodium Citrate (Blood Anticoagulant Rate is 4:1). | ESR using Westergren method |
| 10. ) | Yellow | ACD (Acid-Citrate Dextrose) | Blood Bank studies, HLA Phenotyping and Paternity Testing, Tissue Typing etc. |
| 11. ) | Pink | Dry EDTA | Rh factor, ABO typing, CBC, Blood banking procedures etc. |
