Sec.  40.175  What steps does the first laboratory take with a split specimen?

     (a) As the laboratory at which the primary and split specimen first arrive, you must check to see whether the split specimen is available for testing.

    (b) If the split specimen is unavailable or appears insufficient, you must then do the following:

    (1) Continue the testing process for the primary specimen as you would normally. Report the results for the primary specimen without providing the MRO information regarding the unavailable split specimen.

    (2) Upon receiving a letter from the MRO instructing you to forward the split specimen to another laboratory for testing, report to the MRO that the split specimen is unavailable for testing. Provide as much information as you can about the cause of the unavailability.

    (c) As the laboratory that tested the primary specimen, you are not authorized to open the split specimen under any circumstances (except when the split specimen is redesignated as provided in Sec.  40.83). 

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    (d) When you receive written notice from the MRO instructing you to send the split specimen to another HHS-certified laboratory, you must forward the following items to the second laboratory:

    (1) The split specimen in its original specimen bottle, with the seal intact;

    (2) A copy of the MRO's written request; and

    (3) A copy of Copy 1 of the CCF, which identifies the drug(s)/metabolite(s) or the validity criteria to be tested for.

    (e) You must not send to the second laboratory any information about the identity of the employee. Inadvertent disclosure does not, however, cause a fatal flaw.

    (f) This subpart does not prescribe who gets to decide which HHS-certified laboratory is used to test the split specimen. That decision is left to the parties involved.