Accurate filling of specimen tube essential.
Specimens must be transported at room temperature to the Laboratory in a red specimen bag ASAP. (Maximum delay to testing laboratory must not exceed 2hrs)
* If several factor assays are requested e.g. II, V,VII and X, a total of 3 x sodium citrate tubes are required for an adult and 2 tubes for a child.

Factor V has a biological half-life of 36 hours. Acquired F V deficiency is seen with chronic liver disease and is a better predictor of overall synthetic liver impairment than deficiency of the Vit K-dependant factors. There are no available factor V concentrates.  Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) is the only treatment available for F V deficiency.  In acute cases of severe bleeding, the addition of platelet concentrates may be helpful.  Depending upon availability, solvent-detergent FFP may contain a more reliable level of Factor V than standard FFP. Paradoxically, several reports exist of patients with congenital F V deficiency that present with thrombosis!