You have the blood collection kit at home. On this page you will read step by step how to make the sample collection go well: from preparation to sending it back. Take a quiet quarter of an hour for it and you will get it right first time.
Watch the video first and read the leaflet in the box. Then go through the six steps below. The video has Dutch subtitles.
A good sample starts the evening before. These are the four things that make the difference.
That way you are automatically fasting and your values are easiest to compare. Choose a quiet moment without rush.
No soft drinks, juice or milk either. Drinking water is allowed and is even good: it makes giving blood easier.
Hold your hands under warm water for a minute or take a warm shower. Warm fingers give blood much more easily.
Lay out the contents of the box, the leaflet and a pen on a clean table. Wash your hands with soap and dry them well.
Did you eat or drink coffee anyway? Then do not prick. The results would not be correct and you would have to order a new kit. Wait until the next morning and start again.
Follow the steps in this order. The leaflet in the box remains the guide for the prick itself.
Open the box and keep it: you will need it to send the kit back. Read the leaflet all the way through before touching anything. It explains exactly how to prick and how long the test needs to dry.
Check the expiry date on the box. Has it passed? Then do not use the kit and contact us.
Preferably prick in the morning before breakfast. You will then have had nothing to eat and no coffee or tea for at least 3 hours. Do drink a glass of water, that helps.
Are you ill or do you have a fever? Then wait until you are better. An infection affects your values.
Follow the leaflet. These are the points where things most often go wrong:
Write the day of the sample collection on the green sticker, as day-month-year. Without a date the lab cannot process your test and we would have to ask you for a new sample.
You do not need to fill in anything else: your test kit is already linked to you via the code on the box. So there is no name on what you send.
The return label is already in or on the box. You do not need to pay for postage.
Take the box the same day to the nearest drop-off point of the shipping partner shown on the return label. Dried blood only keeps for a limited time, so do not put it off.
Have the box scanned at the counter. From that moment we can track the shipment and you will see in your account that your test is on its way.
Small things that make the difference between a successful and a failed sample.
Cold hands are the main cause of too little blood. A shower, warm water or swinging your arms for a minute helps.
Prick the side of your middle or ring finger. Less sensitive and easier to let drops fall.
Squeezing hard mixes tissue fluid into the blood and that distorts the results. Massage and gravity do the work.
Fill each square up to the marked line. Half-filled squares do not give a usable sample.
Lay the test flat and let it dry as the leaflet says. Do not pack it wet.
After the prick, put a plaster on your finger. The lancet is single-use; dispose of it with the household waste.
Contact us first, or postpone the sample collection, if you:
Not sure? Email or call us before you prick. That is always better than a failed sample.
Is there a second lancet in the box? Warm your hand again and try a different finger. If you cannot fill all the squares, do not send the test in but contact us. We will send you a new kit.
Have you not dropped off the box yet? Then open it and write the date on the green sticker after all. Is the box already gone? Then email us the sample date straight away and we will pass it on to the lab.
Then do not prick. Wait until the next morning and start again. Unused, the kit simply stays good until the expiry date.
After we receive your sample, it takes about 2 to 3 weeks to analyse your blood and prepare your personal report. After that we schedule the consultation with the lifestyle doctor.
As soon as the box has been scanned at the drop-off point, we track the shipment. You can see in your account when the test has arrived with us and when it has gone to the lab.
No. Your test is linked to you via a code. The lab only sees that code and the sample date, never your name or address.
Stuck, or not sure whether you can prick? Get in touch before you start.