[Current state and problem of collecting blood--from medical technologists standpoint].

Blood collection is indispensable, but discussion over proper blood collection methods became active after a problem occurred in both the collecting method and the blood collection tube itself, during vacuum blood collection. In Japan there has been no standard blood collection method until now, and it has been executed based on individual facilities, guidelines, or on individual experience. Regarding these points, the Japanese Committee on Clinical Laboratory Standards (JCCLS) created the 1st edition of guidelines based on National Committee on Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) in July 2004, and this has been used until now. Here I would like to describe current issues of collecting blood from the point of view of medical technologists.