Dried blood spot (DBS) is the process of collection of blood spots, beginning with a finger or heel prick and spotting whole blood directly onto a filter paper. Major advantages of using DBS are as follows: (a) Volume of blood required is less compared to conventional venipuncture; (b) The potential risk of bacterial contamination and/or hemolysis with traditional method is minimal with DBS; (c) Collection of blood is easy, noninvasive, and economical; (d) Blood spots can be kept for long periods with almost no deterioration of the analytes. Additionally, all the procedures for using DBS, namely, collection of blood sample on filter paper, its further processing, and its storage and/or transport to the laboratory, have been fairly standardized and can be easily adopted by any center. Click the link to read the whole article.
