A Method for Collection and Mailing of Bone-Marrow Aspirates for Chromosome Analysis

To the Editor: Present procedures generally require that bone-marrow aspirates be processed immediately after collection to allow a satisfactory harvest of the chromosomes for study. To avoid the necessity of immediate processing, we asked clinicians to collect 0.2 to 0.5 ml of aspirate in two drops of EDTA, place the sample in the refrigerator without delay, and deliver it to our laboratory within a few hours. Preparations from these samples were just as satisfactory as preparations from duplicate samples collected directly into phosphate-buffered saline and processed immediately. Six bone-marrow aspirates that were collected in EDTA were processed in duplicate; one. . .