Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (Blood)

Testing Laboratory

Auckland Te Toka Tumai | Auckland Hospital

Department

Chemical Pathology

Delphic Registration Code (Alpha Code)

STSH

Test Code (Numeric Code)

3027

Laboratory Handling

Registration

Thyroid Function Test {Plain, Heparin, EDTA):
Group code 1 = FT4 + TSH only is registered as TF2
Group code 2 = FT4 + TSH + FT3 is registered as TF3

Sample Stability

8 days at 20 - 25°C, 14 days at 2-8°C, 24 months at -20°C

Synonyms

TSH, Thyrotropin

Turnaround Time

3 hours

Specimen Type

  • Plasma
  • Serum

Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred
  • Lithium Heparin PST- Gel (Light Green Cap)
Acceptable
  • EDTA (Lavender Cap)
  • Lithium Heparin - Non-gel (Green Cap)
  • Plain (Red Top)
  • SST II (Gold Cap)
Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

5

Minimum Sample Volume (ml)

3.5

No of Samples Required

1

Paediatric Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred
  • Lithium Heparin PST- Gel (Light Green Cap)
Acceptable
  • EDTA (Lavender Cap)
  • Lithium Heparin - Non-gel (Green Cap)
  • Plain (Red Top)
Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

0.5

Minimum Sample Volume (ml)

0.5

Additional Specimen Information

0.5 mL Paediatric Microtainer PST Blood (Preferred)
0.5 mL Paediatric Microtainer Heparin Blood
0.5 mL Paediatric Microtainer Plain Blood
0.5 mL Paediatric Microtainer EDTA Blood

Last updated: 27/07/2026