Blood spillage may occur because a laboratory sample breaks in the phlebotomy area or during transportation, or because there is excessive bleeding during the procedure. In this situation, clean up the spillage and record the incident, using the following procedure.

1. Wear a pair of non-sterile gloves.
2. Use tongs or a pan and brush to sweep up as much of the broken glass (or container) as possible. Do not pick up pieces with your hands.
3. Discard the broken glass in a sharps container. If this is not possible due to the size of the broken glass, wrap the glass or container in several layers of paper and discard it carefully in a separate container. Do not place it in the regular waste container.
4. Use disposable paper towels to absorb as much of the body fluids as possible.
5. Wipe the area with water and detergent until it is visibly clean.
6. Saturate the area again with sodium hypochlorite 0.5% (10 000 ppm available chlorine). This is a 1:10 dilution of 5.25% sodium hypochlorite bleach, which should be prepared daily.
7. Rinse off the tongs, brush and pan, under running water and place to dry.
8. Remove gloves and discard them.
9. Wash hands carefully with soap and water, and dry thoroughly with single-use towels.
10. Record the incident in the incident book if a specimen was lost, or persons were exposed to blood and body fluids.