Invitae's saliva sample collection kit provides the materials and instructions for collecting and stabilizing saliva specimens. Please do not use buccal swabs or any other collection kit.
Before collecting a saliva sample using Invitae's kit, do not eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum for 30 minutes. In addition, do not remove the plastic film from the funnel lid.
Most people take between 2 and 5 minutes to deliver a saliva sample, following these steps:
- Spit into funnel until the amount of liquid saliva (not bubbles) reaches the fill line.
- Hold the tube upright with one hand. Close the funnel lid with the other hand by firmly pushing the lid until you hear a loud click. The liquid in the lid will be released into the tube and mixed with the saliva. Make sure that the lid is closed tightly.
- We request that a full 2mL of saliva be donated prior to capping the kits to be valid for our genomic analysis. Should you not have completed the 2mL donation before capping the tube, please request another collection kit.
- Hold the tube upright. Unscrew the funnel from the tube.
- Use the small cap to close the tube tightly.
- Shake the capped tube for 5 seconds. Discard or recycle the funnel.
Multilingual user instructions and instructional videos are available online for both the US kits and International kits.
If a patient has difficulty completing the saliva donation, the following suggestions can help increase saliva production:
- Rub your cheeks or the roof of your mouth with your tongue.
- Imagine a candy, lemon, or favorite food in your mouth.
- Place a small amount of sugar (not candy) on the tongue. Allow the sugar to dissolve in your mouth.
After completing the saliva donation, there are no special storage requirements shipping the tube to Invitae. The saliva kit is stable at room temperature. For more information, please contact Client Services.