Shipping of blood cells over long distance - (Mar/11/2011 )

Hi All,

I am wondering what is the best method of sending live PBMCs oversea? I am looking into methods of sending PBMCs isolated from whole blood from China to Canada and the cells will be used for short term cultures (ie ELISpot). I have heard that putting cells in RPMI+20%DMSO and freeze by liquid nitrogen and ship with dry ice won't work? Anybody here have experiences with this kind of situation? What would be the cheapest and effective way to do this?

I would assume shipping whole blood is NOT possible?

Thanks

Hello ehcw,

Though I do not have experience in processing PBMC's, we do receive many samples from around the world and can probably help with shipping.  I do not see why you cannot ship whole blood as we receive serum and plasma all the time, and whole blood on the odd occasion - it just may be better to isolate the PBMC's first, then place them in a more stable environment as whole blood usually ends up with complete hemolysis.  The cheapest way to do this would probably be FedEx.  World Courier is probably the best because of the extra care and service they provide in ensuring your samples arrive in good order, but they are very expensive.  Shipping from China would probably need a minimum of 5kg of dry ice - probably best to aim for 7-10kg.

Here is a guide to help with shipping:  Just click on "International shipping"

http://evetechnologies.com/faq.php