Short answer: Because the MNT is performed on lymphocytes
It is necessary to collect whole blood taken from the vein because the SpectraCell micronutrient test is performed on living white blood cells. These cells, called T-lymphocytes (also called T-cells) are a very special type of cell that can be stimulated to grow under certain conditions, which is exactly what the SpectraCell micronutrient test does – it grows (cultures) your cells in different nutritional environments and measures how the cells respond.
The lab needs enough blood to grow the cells
Since the lab is actually growing live cells, an adequate amount of blood is needed. It would be impossible to perform the SpectraCell test on the minuscule amount of blood that could collected from a finger prick, which is the only type of blood collection for at-home use. In most cases, vitamin or mineral testing done on blood samples collected at home are simply serum measurements. SpectraCell’s micronutrient test is NOT serum testing. It is much more advanced. For a detailed explanation of how SpectraCell’s MNT is superior to serum testing, click here.
Why can other labs collect blood at home?
The SpectraCell MNT is different than every other micronutrient test available today. It is a functional measure of nutrient status. Serum and any test that reports nutrients in units of mass per volume (like mcg/dL for example), is NOT a functional test. Serum tests measure how much of a vitamin exists in the blood. SpectraCell measures how that vitamin is actually being utilized by the cell, regardless of how much exists. If you have a ton of vitamin B2 in your blood, but your cells can’t use it, you are what is called functionally deficient. This is what the SpectraCell micronutrient test can tell you – the nutrients in which you are functionally deficient, which correlates to clinical symptoms much more accurately than serum.
Why does the blood need to be drawn from the vein?
For the SpectraCell MNT, two tubes (about 8 mL each) are collected, which is a common amount for many lab tests. But that amount of blood cannot be taken from a finger. The blood would clot before you could fill up even one tube. For this reason, the blood is drawn by a phlebotomist (a medical technician who can draw blood from the arm). Although it presents a logistical wrinkle over finger prick testing at home, venipuncture (blood drawn from the arm) is necessary for the SpectraCell MNT because the lab is using living cells. Any nutrient lab test done with finger prick or dried blood spot is inferior to SpectraCell’s MNT.
Why does the blood have to be overnighted to the SpectraCell Lab?
Since the SpectraCell MNT is done on living cells, the blood must reach our lab within 24 hours of collection. The lab needs to isolate and grow the lymphocytes in a patented media (called CFBI 1000) and if the blood is too “old” (as in from the time it was drawn, not the age of the person), the lymphocytes will die. In that case, the lymphocytes will not respond when prompted to proliferate (grow) and the SpectraCell MNT cannot be done. The result will be called an NRT, for non-responsive test.
