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Tips for patients coming for lab tests

• Fasting is required for many laboratory tests. If you were told to fast before your test, do not eat or drink anything for several hours (usually 10-14 hours) before the collection. In most cases you can drink water and take your medications, but check with your doctor to be sure.
• Please come to the lab wearing loose clothing that allows your sleeve to be rolled up past the elbow.
• The busiest time of day at any of our hospital blood collection sites is first thing in the morning. Many of our patients require fasting blood work and arrive early in the morning. If you are not required to fast, try coming later in the day when wait times are usually much shorter.
• The hospital is a scent-free environment. Please do not wear any scented products when in the hospital or lab.
• If you are coming in just to drop off a sample and you do not require any blood work, you still need to speak to the receptionist so that we can ensure that all the paperwork and labels are complete.
• If you see some patients arriving after you, but being served before you, it may be because they are returning for a “timed test” which requires them to have their blood collected at a specific time. Please be patient.
• For glucose tolerance testing, you must stay in our blood collection area for a period up to three hours, during which multiple samples will be drawn at timed intervals.
• If you are having a 2-hour “PC glucose” test, you will be told to go eat a meal and return to have your blood collected at the two-hour mark (PC sample).

If you are required to drop off a sample at the laboratory, please check that the following information is on the sample (and legible):

• full legal name (the same as on your OHIP card or other valid piece of photo identification)
• date of collection
• time of collection

Last updated on: November 1st, 2022