Can every blood value really be tested from home?

In principle yes — provided the parameter remains stable on the shipping route and the laboratory has validated this for the home-sampling configuration. Not every parameter can be measured from capillary blood without further work. Probatix operates with a curated panel portfolio of validated parameters; whatever is not stable is not offered.

Why is the stability of a parameter so important?

During shipping, time and temperature are uncontrolled. Some analytes degrade or shift when the sample is in transit for too long or experiences temperature swings. Incorrect values are diagnostically worthless — or worse: misleading. Validation means the lab has shown experimentally that the parameter remains reliably measurable under real conditions.

How do I recognise a reliable laboratory?

Three criteria: ISO 15189 accreditation of the analysing laboratory, documented validation of the parameter for the shipping route, a clean pre-analytics chain with defined reject criteria. Ask the provider actively about this — anyone who dodges these questions has often not done their homework.

Which sample types are possible?

Liquid capillary blood (e.g. Tasso+, TAP Micro Select), urine (STI pathogens, UACR, creatinine), saliva (hormone profiles), swab (HPV and STI) and stool (occult blood for colorectal cancer screening as well as microbiome profiles). Which of these suits your programme depends on the parameter — not every sample covers every panel.

What can be tested from home? Blood, urine, saliva, swab, stool — and what really matters

Which sample type covers what

The sample type determines the diagnostic spectrum. For each, Probatix has established kits and workflows.

Liquid capillary blood (fingertip / upper arm)

Microsampling devices such as Tasso+ and TAP Micro Select collect liquid capillary blood from the upper arm, almost painlessly. Probatix uses liquid capillary blood here (rather than dried blood / DBS), because for most validated parameters it offers the closest match to classic serum results. Advantages over venous blood: no clinic visit, no professional staff, no cooled shipping for most parameters.

The panels covered run across the standard portfolio — some typical examples from the active offering:

Men’s Health Profile and Women’s Health Profile as broad all-round checks
Cardiovascular Risk Profile and Cholesterol Status
Long-term blood glucose (HbA1c) and Metabolic Profile
Thyroid Profile and Menopause Profile
Testosterone Profile and Men’s Hormone Profile
Vitamin D Check, Nutrient Analysis Plus and Energy Status
Burnout Risk / Neuro-Vital Profile
Liver Profile and Kidney Profile

The full panel list and the parameters in each can be found in the profile builder — we configure a tailored panel for your programme together with you.

Urine

Urine samples are suitable not only for the classic STI pathogens (chlamydia, gonococci) but also for nephrological parameters such as the albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) and creatinine — important building blocks in, for example, kidney-function and diabetes follow-up programmes. Sample stabilisers allow shipping times without cooling.

Saliva

Saliva is particularly suitable for hormonal profiles (e.g. a cortisol day profile or sex hormones). Collection is non-invasive and easily done at home. In the Probatix stack a saliva sample runs through the same logistics and result chain as a blood sample.

Swab

Self-swabs at Probatix cover both HPV high-risk tests (cervical cancer screening) and classic STI swabs.

Stool

In the stool space the portfolio includes both: the immunochemical iFOBT method for occult blood for colorectal cancer early detection, and gut flora / microbiome profiles for functional programmes around digestion and gut health.

The decisive point — stability & pre-analytics

In home sampling the transport is uncontrolled: variable shipping duration, variable temperature, no cool-chain management. Not every parameter survives that. Ferritin behaves differently from a vitamin D, a hormone differently from an enzyme.

Validation means: the laboratory has shown in stability studies that a given parameter remains reliably measurable under realistic shipping conditions (e.g. 72 h transport at 4–30 °C). Without that validation, values can be systematically shifted — and the nice-looking “result” is diagnostically worthless.

Probatix puts every parameter offered via home sampling through a validation. What is not stable under shipping conditions is not added to the portfolio. This curated list is the central quality anchor — and the reason why the same microsampling device, with different providers, can produce very different result qualities.

How to recognise a reliable setup

If you are vetting a diagnostics provider as a programme owner, these questions belong on the list:

Accreditation of the analysing laboratory? The answer should include ISO 15189 along with the scope.
Is the specific parameter validated for the shipping route? The answer should reference stability data or a validation document.
How is the pre-analytics chain secured? Shipping-duration monitoring, sample intake checks, reject criteria.
What happens to an unstable sample? A serious answer includes defined reject criteria and a re-sampling workflow for the end user.

Anyone who is vague here is not delivering reliable values — even if the app looks nice.

Not a self-test

Important context: home sampling does not replace a rapid test with immediate self-interpretation at home. In the Probatix model the sample is taken at home and then analysed in an accredited specialist laboratory. The result comes back in a structured form (FHIR R4, LOINC-coded) and — where required — with medical validation.

More on the regulatory distinction in the IVDR article.