Can I collect my sample while menstruating?

We recommend against collecting your sample during menstruation. Menstrual blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells, and cellular debris that can contaminate the urine specimen and interfere with RNA extraction and nanopore analysis. Menstrual blood also contains RNA from endometrial cells that could potentially affect total RNA quantification used in HL normalization. If you are currently menstruating, wait until menstruation has ended completely before collecting. Even a small amount of menstrual blood in the specimen could compromise the quality of your results — the internal control may flag this, leading to a repeat collection.