Can BD Vacutainer® Blood Collection tubes be re-sterilized, for introduction into a sterile field?
BD Vacutainer® Tubes are irradiated to achieve sterility. These tubes are sterile on the interior only. We cannot recommend re-sterilizing the tubes, i.e., ETO (ethylene oxide) or autoclaving, primarily due to pressure changes that take place during the re-sterilization cycle. Our tubes are under a specific negative pressure. During the re-sterilization cycle this negative pressure may be disrupted and therefore the tubes may not draw the proper blood volume.
