1. The veterinarian or owner must obtain the “Application for Thyroid Database” form, available from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals by phone (573) 442-0418 or online at www.ofa.org. Both veterinarian and owner must enter completely all the required information on the OFA form. If paying for OFA registration by credit card, fill out that section, too.

2. The veterinarian must also complete an AHDC accession form. Enter "OFA Thyroid Panel" in the "TEST(S) REQUESTED" section of the AHDC form. The Endocrinology Laboratory fee for the three tests including an AHDC accessioning fee is $75.00.

3. A check made payable to the OFA for $15.00 or credit card information is required for any dog’s initial registration. This check (if necessary) plus the OFA form (step 1) completed by owner and veterinarian and the AHDC accession form completed by the veterinarian (step 2), must accompany the specimen.

4. Two milliliters (2 mL) of serum are needed for testing. For sample collection, do not use any type of serum separator tube, any clot additive or any type of plasma collection tube. The serum sample must be from fresh blood, collected into a plain tube (e.g. red-top), and separated from the clot and cells prior to shipment and/or storage. After collection:

   • Allow the blood to clot for a minimum of 30 minutes.
   • Centrifuge at a speed and time that allow adequate separation and specimen yield.
   • Transfer serum to a plain glass or plastic (recommended) tube/container suitable for shipping and/or frozen storage.
   • Clearly label the sample tube/container with: 1) Owner’s name, 2) Animal’s identification, 3) Date of blood collection, and 4) "OFA Thyroid Panel".
   • Store the aliquoted serum refrigerated prior to shipping or frozen if the time prior to shipping will be12 hours or more.

   Please be advised that "severely" lipemic or hemolyzed specimens are unsuitable for testing. All samples should be received either chilled or frozen in order to be accepted for testing. However, specimens arriving at room temperature or unchilled, if received within 48 hours of the collection date, will also be acceptable for testing. Please contact the laboratory for additional information.

5. Ship to the address below. We recommend using a courier that can deliver samples within a 48-hour period preferably with overnight or next day delivery service (see below):

   AHDC Endocrinology Laboratory
   240 Farrier Road
   Veterinary College, Cornell University
   Ithaca, NY 14853

Note: Laboratory test results will be reported only to the submitting veterinarian and the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. Results will not be available from the laboratory by telephone. The OFA will send a certificate to the owner.

Please contact the laboratory for further assistance or for information regarding shipping materials and AHDC programs that may offer discounted courier rates. (607) 253-3673 or (607) 253-3674 or (607) 253-3593.

ENDO-WEB-014-V02 7/16/2019