Samples and labelling

Your doctor or other health professional may ask for a urine sample to help diagnose or rule out health conditions such as:

• Pregnancy
• Organ function (kidney or other)
• Infection of the urinary tract
• Diabetes.

Collecting a urine sample 

The types of urine sample you might be asked for include a random specimen, first morning specimen or timed collection.

Your doctor or another healthcare professional should give you a container and explain how you should collect the urine sample. To collect a clean urine sample:

• Label the container with your name, date of birth and the date
• Genitalia should be washed and dried with plain water before collecting the urine sample
• Wash your hands
• Start to urinate, but don’t collect the first part of urine that comes out
• Collect a sample of urine mid-stream in the sterile screw-top container. This reduces the risk of the sample being contaminated with bacteria.
• Screw the lid of the container shut
• Wash your hands thoroughly.

If your doctor gives you any other instructions, please follow these.

Storing a urine sample until you hand it in 

If you can’t hand your urine sample in within an hour, you should keep the container in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge at around 4C (39F) for no longer than 24-hours. If the urine sample isn’t kept in a fridge, the bacteria in it can multiply and this could affect your test results.

Labelling and transporting your own sample

By supplying a sample for testing you are consenting to your clinical information being available to other clinicians, if required, as part of your treatment.

Please ensure all the details below are included on your sample. This will help prevent delays and your sample from being rejected.

• Last name/surname in block capitals
• First name in lower case script
• Date of birth and NHS number, if available
• Date collected
• Time collected – use 24-hour clock.

Instructions for the transportation of samples, including any special handling needs 

Samples can be placed in the dropbox in the hospital’s main entrance (next to the security desk, sign says ‘Routine Specimens’) or taken to the Pathology Department (Red Zone, Level 4) which is open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and from 8am to 1pm on Saturday.

• All containers must be leak proof and sealed correctly
• All samples must be transported at ambient temperature – not too cold or too hot
• Samples must not be placed into pockets or other containers that may be used for another purpose e.g. sandwich boxes
• Never use staples in association with sample transportation
• The sample must be placed in another container which may be a pop seal or self-seal plastic bag. The request form should be attached or placed in the accompanying pouch separate from the sample.

Please remember to label your sample.