Blood Collection and J-Wire

Blood Collection

 

Why we do the technique:

Your blood acts as a transport system to carry things throughout your body. By taking a blood sample we are able to identify certain levels of hormones or examine cells that are in your cardiovascular system.

 

How we do the technique:

An example of a catheter placed in a peripheral vein of the arm.

A nurse or  nurse practitioner will insert a catheter into a vein in your arm. A catheter is a small flexible tube that is placed inside your vein to give access to the blood. We collect blood in special tubes that allow us to examine different hormones or cells in your blood. The amount of blood we collect is equal to a couple tablespoons of blood, which is very small compared to a blood donation.

 

What we can learn:

We look at levels of hormones such as estrogen or progesterone in the blood. We also examine a type of white blood cell called a peripheral blood mononuclear cell. These cells have a nucleus which means they can express different genes and give us information about things happening in your cardiovascular system.

 

J-wire

Why we do the technique:

The cells that line your blood vessels, endothelial cells, have important properties that help regulate blood vessel function. By examining these cells we are able to identify levels of protein expression which helps us to understand how the cells may interact with the blood vessels.

 

How we do the technique:

From the catheter inserted in the arm, during the blood collection,  a sample of endothelial cells will be collected. To do this a registered nurse or nurse practitioner will insert a small thin wire, called a J-wire,  into the catheter in your vein.  The nurse practitioner will move the wire against the wall of your vessel to collect endothelial cells from the inside of your vein. You may feel a ticklish feeling or slight pressure associated with this technique. This technique will be done with two wires and then a blood draw will be taken. Our staff is trained to perform this technique and there are minimal risks associated with having this technique performed.

 

What we can learn:

Once the cells are collected we are able to fix them in a preservative and then use different molecular biology techniques to identify proteins in the cell.