The most common cause of an abnormal appearance of a collected blood specimen is:

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Hemolysis in specimens is perhaps the most common cause of an abnormal appearance.Hemolyzed serum or plasma is unfit as a specimen for several chemistry determinations.A specimen that is hemolyzed appears red,usually clear red,because the red blood cells have been lysed and the hemoglobin has been released into the liquid portion of the blood.
 Icteric (yellow)serum or plasma is another specimen with an abnormal appearance.The abnormal color of the serum can interfere with photometric measurements.
 Lipemic plasma or serum takes on a milky white color.The presence of lipid,or fats,in serum or plasma can cause this abnormal appearance.Use of a lipemic serum specimen does not interfere with some chemical determinations but may interfere with others (e.g.,triglyceride assay).

The Most Common Cause of an Abnormal Appearance of a Collected