Why is blood bank changing to Pink Tubes?
The effective date of the change was September 8, 2003. The Blood Bank changed from RED to PINK top tubes. The new tubes are made of plastic so they are safer for patients and staff. . Either one can be drawn before or after the other as they both contain EDTA and they both require mixing immediately after collection. . Blood Cultures are drawn first, then the order from left to right is: Blood culture bottles; blue; yellow, Red glass, red plastic, green; lavender and pink; and finally gray. For a more extensive discussion of tube collection sequences, see question #6. Reference: NCCLS Document on Blood Collection.
