How does temperature affect blood specimens during transport?

Temperature plays a crucial role in the stability and integrity of blood specimens during transport. Maintaining specimens at specified temperature conditions is essential to ensure that biochemical and cellular components remain intact and that test results are reliable. For example, certain analytes may degrade or change due to temperature fluctuations, leading to inaccurate results that can affect patient diagnosis and treatment.

Good laboratory practices dictate that blood specimens should be transported within a narrow temperature range as specified by guidelines or laboratory protocols. If specimens are exposed to improper temperatures, such as excessive heat or cold, it can result in hemolysis, degradation of cells, or changes in the concentration of certain analytes. This is why option B is the most accurate, as it emphasizes the importance of adhering to specific temperature requirements during transport to preserve the quality of the specimens for accurate testing outcomes.