COLEGIO SAN AGUSTIN-BACOLOD

College of Health and Allied Professions MLS 102 LABORATORY ACTIVITY SHEET
Medical Technology Program
LABORATORY ACTIVITY #15
MAKING A BLOOD SMEAR

I. Desired learning outcomes

Blood smears are needed for microscopic examination of blood. They maybe prepared
from venous blood or capillary blood. The most common blood smear is the peripheral smear
used for a complete blood cell count, differential. Blood smears are also made for tests as
malarial smears and special hematology procedures. The blood is spread on a glass slide to
produce a wedge or thin smear. The perfect slide consists of a smear that is exactly one cell
thick in the feathered edge. (Hoeltke, 2018).

After performing this activity, students should be able to:

a. list and explain applications of a blood smear.
b. demonstrate the appropriate technique for preparing a peripheral blood smear.
c. evaluate prepared blood smears for acceptability in the clinical laboratory.

II. Materials
Anticoagulated blood
Blue tip capillary tube
Glass slides

III. Procedure
A. General procedure:
1. Prepare your 10% disinfectant. Make sure to label properly the container.
2. Clean the bench area. Attach in the right side of your working table a small plastic to
serve your trash bin.
3. Assemble all required materials, including the dummy laboratory request and ball pen
4. Decide among the group members who will serve as the phlebotomist and the patient.
Take turn on the roles so that everyone will have a chance to do the blood collection.
5. Wear complete PPE.
6. Perform hand hygiene before wearing and after removing gloves.

B. Obtaining and processing blood sample

1. Follow the procedure in greeting, identifying and doing venipuncture.
2. Follow the procedure in labelling and processing specimen.
C. Making the smear ( Hoeltke, 2018)
1. Select two glass slides that are clean and free of chipped edges. One of these slides shall
be used as your “spreader” or smearer”. Fingerprints, grease, dust, or powder from
gloves on the surface of the glass slides will make them unacceptable.
2. Place a drop of blood 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter on one slide. The drop should be in
the

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 COLEGIO SAN AGUSTIN-BACOLOD
College of Health and Allied Professions MLS 102 LABORATORY ACTIVITY SHEET
Medical Technology Program
the center line approximately ¼ inch from the frosted edge. If there is no frosted edge in
your slide, estimate around 1 and ¼ inches away from the edge of the slide to put a drop
of blood.
3. Hold the slide with the drop of blood at the opposite end with the thumb and forefinger
of your nondominant hand. Grasp the spread slide similarly with your dominant hand.
4. Rest end of the spreader slide at a 45-degree angle just in front of the drop of blood.
Draw the spreader slide backward until it touches the drop of blood. The blood should
spread to the edges of the slide. The blood must spread evenly along the interface of the
two slides. Not spreading the blood evenly will cause a pointed feathered adge.
5. Keep the spreader slide at the 45-degree angle. Push the spreader slide rapidly across the
stationary slide with even stroke and pressure. Any pressure exerted on the spreader
should be directed across the slide in the direction that the film is made rather than
down on the stationary slide. The faster the spreader slide is moved, the longer and
thinner the film will be. The slower the slide is moved, the shorter and thicker the slide
will be. The angle will also vary the results. The angle greater than 45 degrees will make
the smear thicker; less than 45 degrees, the smear is thinner. Speed, angle, and drop size
can be varied slightly to produce a good smear.
6. Allow the slide to air dry. To facilitate air drying, fan the slide back and forth by holding
between thumb and forefinger on the table. Do not blow, tilt, hold slide unevenly
because this will affect the distribution of cells.
7. Check the slide for acceptability. The smear should cover approximately ¾ of the length
of the slide. The feathered edge be relatively straight. It should have a rainbow
appearance when reflecting light. The smear should be smooth the entire length of the
slide with no holes or grainy appearance.
8. Write code of patient on the thick end of a dried blood smear. If a frosted slide-end slide
is used, patient’s code is written on the frosted area. Use pencil or special marking pen as
other inks are washed off when slide is processed.

IV. Guide Questions

1. List and explain applications of a blood smear.
2. How alterations in form, structure or distribution of cells of blood smear affect diagnosis
and treatment?
3. What are the characteristics of a good blood smear? Why these characteristics are
observed always?

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 COLEGIO SAN AGUSTIN-BACOLOD
College of Health and Allied Professions MLS 102 LABORATORY ACTIVITY SHEET
Medical Technology Program

NAME OF STUDENT: _____________________________ DATE PERFORMED:______

TITLE OF LABORATORY ACTIVITY: ____________________________ DATE SUBMITTED:_______

I. Observation/Results

II. Discussion

III. Conclusion

IV. References

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