Satellite/Onsite Clinic for CEA DNA testing

[laurie etc]

This is my last notice that we are conducting an ABCA/VBCA sponsored 20/20 Onsite and Satellite CEA DNA clinic this Saturday, July 23, at the VBCA Fun Sheepdog trial in Berryville, VA. We'll be set up to draw blood at the Onsite clinic between 10 am and 4 pm. If you are interested in participation please read on...

 

Please read over the information below, check out Optigen?s website for specific directions http://www.optigen.com, and contact me or Becky at Optigen if you have further questions. Our Clinic Code is FST723. This clinic code for the discounted test price may only be used for tests requested between July 15 and 23, 2005 and may be used as a satellite clinic for dogs needing CEA DNA testing only. If you are in need of some other Optigen test, please refer to their website for a different code. If you are planning to come to the VBCA?s Fun Sheepdog Trial in Berryville, VA on July 23 and have your dog tested onsite, you will still need to go to Optigen?s website and fill out the form, bringing it with you to the clinic to get the full discount. We will have forms available on site, but you will not qualify for the full discount if you do not register online beforehand. We will be set up most of the day to accommodate the dogs running in the trial, but if you are just bringing a dog for testing, I?d like to set you up with a time slot. If you are planning to participate in the Satellite Clinic, you will need to make sure your dog?s blood is drawn by your vet between July 23 and July 29, and shipped to reach Optigen the week of July 25th (arriving before the weekend). Usually blood should be shipped the day it is drawn. Let me know if you need directions to the trial site, or have any other questions.

Thanks,

Laurie Anderson

 

some more info from ABCA...

 

CEA DNA TESTING - from Sally Lacy, ABCA Health and Genetics Committee

 

If you decide to have a dog DNA tested for the CEA gene, it is a good idea to inform yourself by reading about CEA/CH disease and the new gene test for it on the Optigen web site, including the ?message from Dr. Acland.?

 

To do this, go to: www.optigen.com

 

Request Test: (in red menu bar)

print ?tips for a successful online entry? - 19 steps to take for an online entry will be listed. When you Request Test, be ready with dog registration numbers which will identify the dogs to the veterinarian and Optigen, chip or tattoo ID if dog has it (required only for unregistered puppies), approximate dates of last eye tests and name of ophthalmologist, decide on your payment method, decide how you want the results sent to you (mail, email, or fax). Then make your test requests online, print them out and get confirmation from Optigen. Take these with you to the vet.

 

Ship Samples: (in red menu bar) Print this and take with you to your vet. This has all the information the veterinarian or vet tech will need for drawing the sample and shipping it to Optigen in Ithaca, NY.

 

Results: You will receive a report from Optigen in about two weeks by the method you choose, fax, email, or letter, telling you if the DNA status of your dog is Normal, Carrier, or Affected. Optigen will say that a Normal dog can be bred to any other dog without producing affected puppies or that a Carrier or Affected bred to a Normal dog will not producing affected puppies. This is genetically correct, but ABCA?s policy still precludes registering offspring of Affected dogs.

 

Confidentiality: Optigen will not disclose the results to anyone but the owner listed on the application. Although quarterly summaries will be disclosed for all Border Collies tested in that quarter, no agreement has been made between Optigen and ABCA or any other Border Collie breed club to disclose individual dog results.

 

Discounts:

Regular price - $180/dog.

You can get 20% off for participating in a 20/20 clinic ($144/dog)

and another 5% off for submitting Test Request online ($135/dog) You can print out and mail in a request, but you won?t get this extra 5% discount.

Participate in any 20/20 satellite clinic listed on Optigen?s web site. It does not have to be a Border Collie CEA clinic. Find the listing by clicking on the link on the Optigen home page to view the calendar of 20/20 clinics (yellow side bar on homepage)

 

To participate in a 20/20 you need to do three things:

1. contact becky@optigen.com and ask for the clinic code for the satellite 20/20 you want to participate in.

2. submit your Test Request within a time frame of 20 days before the date up to the date listed for the clinic.

3. make sure the blood sample drawn by your own vet or vet tech is packaged according to Optigen instructions and sent so that it arrives in Ithaca during the week following the 20/20 clinic (except when it is a week-long satellite clinic). It must arrive before the weekend. Samples shipped from outside the USA need labels for customs. Go to the end of Ship Samples (on red menu bar) for instructions. Becky Iddings will answer any remaining questions. becky@optigen.com

[Valhalla]

Lauri, I am planning on particpating in the blood draw. Do you guys mail all the blood together or will we get our own dogs' vial and mail it ourselves?

 

In your note, it says that blood should be shipped the day it is drawn. That'll be close to impossible if I have to mail the blood myself since I won't be home until Sunday night. And with the heat factor, what does that do to blood sitting in a tube for over two days?

[laurie etc]

I'll be mailing it all in together. It is fine to refrigerate it over the weekend and mail it out first thing on Monday - its going with Ice packs in styrofoam, per Optigen's instructions. It will also be insured, in case anything happens in shipment.

The "mail same day" thing is for vets mailing it in individually and/or overseas people - interestingly, there are quite a few satellite participants from other countries, including the Netherlands and Australia....Laurie