Introduction: The preanalytical phase of laboratory testing, including collecting of the material, is one of the most important factors affecting the quality of the results of analyzes.
Aim of the research: To evaluate the influence of the method of collecting venous blood on the result of blood cell count determination.
Material and methods: Venous blood of 20 healthy people was collected into tubes with K2EDTA using two types of blood collection system: an open blood collection system (consisting of a syringe and needle) and a vacuum blood collection system (consisting of a vacuum tube for blood collection and matching needle).
Results: Statistical analysis of the results showed that the method of blood venous collection influenced the result of some parameters of blood cell count determination, such as red blood cell count, white blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit and platelet count, but did not influence mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. These differences are clinically relevant because they do not exceed 5% of the value.
Conclusions: Results of blood morphology appears to depend on the method of sample collection. The observed differences are not clinically significant, because they do not exceed 5%.