Which tests commonly require EDTA as anticoagulant?

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EDTA is used to stop clotting while preserving cellular details, which is essential for hematology tests. For a complete blood count and blood smear analysis, you need intact red cells, white cells, and platelets with accurate morphology. EDTA’s calcium-chelating action prevents coagulation without distorting cell appearance, making it the ideal anticoagulant for CBC and smear evaluation.

Chemistry panels measure soluble substances in plasma or serum, and EDTA would interfere with many assays by binding calcium and other ions, so those tests use other collection tubes that don’t contain EDTA. Serology is typically performed on serum, obtained after clotting, rather than EDTA-preserved plasma. Lipid panels also rely on serum or specific plasma conditions and are not run with EDTA-containing samples.