DNA from old blood samples??

[Tim Hutchin]

In article <cstroy-061294111827 at gen023.gen.tcd.ie>, cstroy at mail.tcd.ie
(Chris Troy) wrote:

> Does anyone have any suggestions or protocols for extracting DNA from some
> old blood samples that have been lying around for up to two years. The
> samples are feline bloods that were collected in lithium heparin vacutainer
> tubes and stored at 4C in a refrigerator. The blood hasn't quite coagulated
> yet, but its very gloopy and definitely not liquid. We are reluctant to try
> our normal protocol as these samples are irreplaceable. The quality of the
> DNA is not necessarily a factor because they shall only be used for PCR.

Have you tried using Genereleaser (Bio ventures) ? I have used it with
great success on blood samples frozen for over a year and you only need to
use 1 or 2 ul of whole blood.


Tim