ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Linking single nucleotide polymorphisms to disease etiology is expected to result in a substantial increase in the number of genetic tests available and performed at clinical laboratories. Whole blood serves as the most common DNA source for these tests. Because the number of blood samples rises with the number of genetic tests performed, alternative DNA sources will become important. One such alternative source is clotted blood, a by-product of serum extraction. Efficiently using an already procured blood sample would limit the overall number of samples processed by clinical laboratories. OBJECTIVE: To determine if DNA purified from clotted blood can be effectively used for single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping. DESIGN: DNA was purified from the clotted blood of 15 donors. Single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping for the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and factor V Leiden mutations was performed with each DNA sample by 2 independent methods. RESULTS: High-quality DNA was obtained from each of the 15 individual clotted blood samples as demonstrated by UV spectrophotometric analysis, gel electrophoresis, and polymerase chain reaction amplification. The DNA was used successfully to obtain genotype data from both the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase and factor V single nucleotide polymorphism assays for all samples tested. CONCLUSIONS: Clotted blood is a clinically abundant sample type that can be used as a source of high-quality DNA for single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping.
