Newborn Drug Testing Lab
Umbilical Cord Tissue Drug Testing
Like meconium, the umbilical cord tissue belongs to the baby, so there are no issues testing it, and no need for mom's permission. It’s available immediately for 100% of births and needs only 1 collection by 1 collector. This saves time and money, but it also gets the specimen to the lab quicker, so turnaround time is much shorter. The look back is 20 weeks with up to a 13-drug panel option, and alcohol and heroine detection that is superior to any other newborn specimen on the market.
Targeted Collection
Collection of the umbilical cord ONLY if the mother meets the hospital’s conditions for determining a potentially exposed newborn. Click here to view the targeted collection instructions. Click here to view the targeted collection instruction slides.
Universal Collection
Collection and short-term storage of the umbilical cord on ALL newborns. Umbilical cord is sent to the laboratory if the mother meets the hospital’s conditions for determining a potentially exposed newborn, or if the newborn shows signs or symptoms of withdrawal. If neither criteria is met, the umbilical cord is discarded. Click here to view the universal collection procedure instructions. Click here to view the universal collection procedure slides. Click here to download a copy of the Universal Umbilical Cord Collection Log.
Umbilical cord specimens can be submitted only through hospital or health system accounts.
Click here to view our collection training video.
Click here to download this information.
Click here to view the Umbilical Cord Resources page.
Drug Panels
- 15 Panel
- 14 Panel
- 13 Panel
- 12 Panel
- 9 Panel
- 7 Panel
- 5 Panel
*Click the green and white plus sign beside each drug class to view the substances within each class.
Add-Ons Available
Collection
Collection Instructions
Collection Steps
6a. Place the newborn’s ID number on the Custody and Control Form in the Patient/Donor section (the newborn’s name is optional). A hospital patient ID label/sticker may be utilized to satisfy this step. Enter date of birth and time of birth.
6b. Mark the specimen type box for Umbilical Cord.
6c. Mark the test(s) requested to be performed in the Test(s) Requested section.
Check ALL that apply.
Client Services
By Phone: 1.800.235.2367
Business Hours (CST)
Monday 6am - 8pm
Tuesday 6am - 8pm
Wednesday 6am - 8pm
Thursday 6am - 8pm
Friday 6am - 8pm
Saturday 8am - 5pm
Testing Details
Panel Name: Umbilical Cord Testing
Panel Description: Umbilical Cord Testing Drug Panel
Type: Profile
Matrix: Umbilical Cord
Collection Container: Leakproof Polypropylene
Sample Amount: 6-8 inches
Storage Conditions: Refrigerated
Transport Conditions: Ambient
Method: Initial screen and confirmation
Turn-Around Time: Our standard Turn-around-time is 24 hours for a negative screen with an additional 24-48 hours for specimens that require confirmatory testing. Turn-around-time begins from receipt of the valid specimen accompanied by a properly documented valid order into our laboratory. Some tests do require additional time to process and will fall outside our standard turn-around-time window.
- References
- Articles
- FAQs
- White Papers
Can a hair test be manipulated by the donor?
Can you test for alcohol exposure in umbilical cord?
Yes, alcohol exposure can be tested individually or by adding the Umbilical Cord Testing EtG add-on to any of the Umbilical Cord Testing drug panels. The EtG add-on screens for Ethyl Glucuronide, a direct alcohol biomarker, indicating exposure to ethanol (drinking alcohol).
Does Umbilical Cord Testing use umbilical cord blood or umbilical cord tissue?
Have results been used in court cases?
Yes, the analysis of a number of tissue types for the presence of drugs of abuse has been used in every state for decades. Specifically, our umbilical cord testing has been used to provide evidence of drug use by the mother in numerous states. Additionally, the detection of drug in umbilical cord was used as evidence of maternal drug consumption in a murder case in South Carolina and that interpretation was upheld on appeal to the SC Supreme Court.
How does using a forensic drug test help the child later in life?
There are several reasons detecting a substance exposed newborn is important. Early detection provides many more options than detection at a later stage in the child’s life, and
- Early detection of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol effect (FAE) allow newborns to be identified and enrolled into early intervention and community programs. New programs are showing dramatic improvements in children identified earlier in life.
- Detection of a exposed child can allow help, intervention and treatment to be offered to the mother, so that exposure during future pregnancies may be prevented.
- As programs, understanding, and treatments improve, substance exposure detection, at a very early stage, can only help the outcome of the child, mother and family.
How long does the laboratory keep remaining umbilical cord tissue?
How should umbilical cord tissue be stored?
The sample is stable at room temperature for 7 days, can be refrigerated (2-8° C) for up to 3 weeks and frozen (< -10° C) up to 1 year.
Is umbilical cord genetically fetal tissue or tissue of the mother?
May the reported quantitation of drug or metabolite in hair, nail, meconium, umbilical cord, or urine be used to determine the timing of the drug use, how often the donor uses the drug, or the extent of the donor’s drug use?
No, when testing a reservoir specimen type, a specimen type where analytes tend to accumulate, you may not backtrack to determine time, dosage, or frequency. The result is positive or negative for the appropriate detection window associated with the specimen type.
The umbilical cord was fixed in formalin. May it still be used for the Umbilical Cord Testing?
What is the window of drug exposure for umbilical cord?
When will I receive umbilical cord results?
Test | Negative Result | Positive Result |
Umbilical Cord Drug Panel | 1 working day | 2 working days |
Umbilical Cord EtOH | 2 working days | 3 working days |
Why is Umbilical Cord Testing becoming the gold standard in newborn testing over meconium?
USDTL’s Umbilical Cord Testing is groundbreaking in newborn testing because it solves several problems:
- Every newborn has an umbilical cord; meconium is not available for every birth.
- Umbilical cord collection is a one-step procedure; meconium collection requires cumulative collections.
- Umbilical Cord Testing offers improved positivity rates for Methamphetamine, Benzodiazepines and Opiates.
- Umbilical Cord Testing improves the integrity of the chain-of-custody: only one donor and one collector are present during the collection. Meconium has multiple collections and multiple collectors.
- Umbilical Cord Testing improves turnaround time because umbilical cord is ready for transport a few minutes after the birth, while meconium passages can be delayed for days before being sent to the lab.
Why was the mother’s urine positive and the umbilical cord negative?
There are several explanations for this. Different specimen types have varying thresholds for positivity. For example, a single dose of methamphetamine 12 hours prior to collection is highly likely to produce a positive urine result, however less likely to generate a positive result for a specimen type with a longer detection window such as umbilical cord, meconium or hair.
contact USDTL
1.800.235.2367
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