Is It Normal To See Fat In Blood When Blood Is Drawn Out, Or Only After Putting It In A Centrifuge?

Posted on Thu, 27 Oct 2011

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 Answered on

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi!
I got my blood drawn out 2 days ago and the nurse said she wanted me to take a look at it ... I was shocked... I saw a bunch of chunks of something in the collection tube. At first glance, I thought it was a bunch of air bubbles (but of course that couldn't be the case or else I'd have an embolism?), but after a closer look I realized it was fat! Which was confirmed by her. I did gain a lot of weight in the past 2 years from overeating a lot of junk food and had never seen any fat in my blood before... My question though is... Is it normal to see this when blood is being drawn out or only after putting it in a centrifuge? Also, is this fat cholesterol or triglycerides?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (6 hours later)

Hello,

Thanks for posting your query.

It is not normal to see any fat floating in your blood like some chunks.

The most likely possibility is that it was serum which gets separated from the blood normally after keeping it for sometime.

I'm limited here with the inability to examine the blood drawn by the nurse, hence I'll not be able to give you more information regarding the possibilities.

You need to wait for the blood reports to know your cholesterol levels exactly.

I hope this answers your query effectively.

In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.

Wishing you good health.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D