NHA Phlebotomy Certification Practice Exam

Why would a blood specimen be rejected by the lab with a QNS reason?

1. The specimen was contaminated

2. The specimen was insufficient - not enough blood

3. The specimen was improperly labeled

4. The specimen was collected at the wrong time

The correct answer is: The specimen was insufficient - not enough blood

A blood specimen is rejected by the lab with a QNS (Quantity Not Sufficient) reason when there is not enough blood volume for the tests required. This situation may arise if the phlebotomist was unable to collect an adequate amount of blood during the venipuncture, leading to insufficient sample volume for accurate analysis or testing. In laboratory settings, precise amounts are often critical; certain tests have minimum volume requirements to ensure results are reliable and valid. Therefore, if a blood sample does not meet these volume parameters, the laboratory will reject it and request a new sample to be collected. The other scenarios, while valid reasons for rejection, do not specifically pertain to the QNS designation. Contamination indicates the sample might have been compromised by outside contaminants; improper labeling suggests that the sample may not be traceable to the correct patient; and collection at the wrong time could affect the timing of results but does not inherently relate to the volume of the sample itself. Each of these issues can lead to other rejection reasons, but for QNS, the sole concern is that the volume is insufficient for testing needs.