In addition to our core laboratory drug and alcohol testing services via urine, oral fluid and hair we also provide other laboratory services, which complement our core services including Blood Borne Virus Testing, DNA Relationship Testing, Liver Function Test (LFT)/Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin (CDT) Test and Benzene Testing.
Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs) are a serious public health concern. It is crucial that those in high-risk groups such as injecting drug users are tested regularly so that appropriate treatment decisions can be made.
When taking whole blood samples, poor venous access and a lack of trained staff can lead to poor screening uptake. Our dried blood spot testing service gives a simple, quick, cost effective method for regular screening whilst increasing uptake in groups where whole blood samples are less popular.1
We provide a BBV service to test for Hepatitis B (Surface Antigen and Core Antibody), Hepatitis C (Antibody and Qualitive PCR) and HIV (Antigen/Antibody), using dried blood spot samples. The BBV sample collection kit is manufactured and distributed by Abbott Toxicology Ltd. BBV analysis is provided by an independent ISO 15189 accredited Health Institution laboratory.
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References
1 Hickman, M., McDonald, T., Judd, A., Nicholes, T., Hope, V. et al., 'Increasing the uptake of hepatitis C virus testing among injecting drug user in specialist drug treatment and prison settings by using dried blood spots for diagnostic testing: a cluster randomized controlled trial'. Journal of Viral Hepatitis (2008) 15; 250-598
Our paternity and relationship DNA testing services help safeguard children and resolve family disputes.
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Our DNA testing solutions include Legal Paternity and Maternity Testing used in UK courts when there is a need to use DNA testing to determine the parentage of a child or children or to identify other blood relatives. We also offer Relationship DNA Testing which is useful when parental samples are not available. In these instances, grandparents and siblings can be tested to determine their relatedness. It is particularly useful when adopted children wish to identify their biological family in later life, or in cases of disputed estates, when a parent has passed away and siblings need to be verified as part of a disputed will.
Corroborative blood alcohol marker testing, such as a liver function test (LFT) and a carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) test provide additional support to a diagnosis of excessive alcohol use.
When used alongside hair alcohol marker testing a fuller picture relating to evidence of chronic excessive alcohol use can be provided. No single biological marker can currently be relied upon in isolation of other tests to determine a chronic alcohol problem, so blood tests are strongly recommended to be used in conjunction with a hair alcohol marker test.
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Our Benzene Exposure Biomonitoring service analyses urine samples as part of routine or post incident testing, to help assess the protection measures in place for occupational benzene exposure, to ensure they are working or are being used correctly.
Benzene is a highly flammable liquid that occurs naturally in crude oil and natural gas. You may be exposed to benzene if you work in certain environments, such as oil refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants or the storage, distribution and use of petrol or benzene.
Our service uses liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to test for levels of S-phenyl mercapturic acid (S-PMA). S-PMA is a metabolite of benzene and indicates total benzene exposure from all sources, whether by vapour inhalation, ingestion or absorption through the skin. S-PMA is therefore recognised as the best biomarker of occupational benzene exposure.
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