Allaire. A. C., Boule, S. 2014. Refining blood collection techniques to improve animal welfare and sample quality. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 605-606. (Abstract #P212).

An effort to refine rodent blood collection techniques resulted in an examination of alternative methodologies to improve animal welfare and sample quality. Disease model or repeated sample collection resulted in inadequate sample volume, occasional hemolysis, and complications including bruising, scarring, and necrosis of sample collection sites. A study was designed to determine whether the use of a vibrating device in comparison to standard straight stick methods would decrease health complications as well as improve sample quality and quantity. C57BL/6 mice were used as a control strain for both tail and saphenous venipuncture. NOD mice were used for the diseased tail stick groups. Atherosclerosis induced ApoB mice were used as a disease model for saphenous venipuncture. Tail sticks were performed twice daily for 2 mo and saphenous bleeds were performed biweekly for 2 mo to mimic study schedules. Sample volume increased with the use of the vibrating device and blood collection was achieved without the use of heat, unlike the standard direct venipuncture method. Comparison of the 2 bleeding methods in the ApoB strain showed that we were able to collect complete volume in 73% of samples via the standard method compared with 84% with the use of the vibrating needle. Full sample volumes were collected with single sticks in 38% of attempts of the standard method compared with 70% of attempts with vibrating needle in ApoB mice. An incidence of bruising was noted at 36% with standard method compared with 12% with the use of vibrating needle. Tail circumference at the site of standard venipuncture of C57Bl/6 mice averaged 13.2 mm; this was a 3-mm increase from both the control and vibrating needle groups which averaged 10-mm tail circumference. This work demonstrates that, as compared with standard blood collection methods, the vibrating needle allows for increased sampling compliance while decreasing associated trauma.