Fry Laboratories specializes in testing for and identification of blood-borne pathogens including (but not limited to) Borrelia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Babesia, Malaria, Trypanosoma, and Toxoplasma.

IgG and IgM are two proteins that are found in blood that are used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects, such as bacteria, parasites and virus. At a very basic level, IgM is usually associated with the onset of a disease (acute) whereas IgG is usually associated with a long-term infection (chronic).

Fry Laboratories can test for the presence of Bartonella in a few different ways. The first is by utilizing immunoflorescent microscopy involving IgG and IgM antibodies. The second is the use of special stains on a thin blood smear. If Bartonella infection is present, they can be found adherent to the outside of red blood cells and may be inside red blood cells.

Lyme disease spirochetes may be seen on a stained smear and have been observed by our laboratory, however they can be extremely difficult to detect under the microscope. The absence of spirochetes under the microscope does not necessarily mean the patient does or does not have Lyme disease. Therefore, in addition to the stained smear, Fry Laboratories offers a Western Blot test for lyme disease.

No. Freezing whole blood will destroy it so that testing cannot be performed. Simply freeze the small ice pack provided with your kit and place the cold pack with your blood collection tubes in the Styrofoam box.

PCR (or Polymerase Chain Reaction) is a technique used to amplify very small amounts of pathogen DNA up to detectable levels. This allows extremely sensitive detection of these pathogens. If a positive detection is suspected, the organism will be sequenced and the exact species identified as part of the PCR test.

Fry Laboratories is working to become a premier PCR laboratory in the U.S. and to offer tests for all known blood borne pathogens. Please check our requisition for the most up to date list of validated PCR tests available.

Advanced Stains are tests based on new technology in infection and parasite detection. All samples processed for the Advanced Stains test are subjected to two independent tests. The first test uses fluorescent DNA stains to visualize pathogens. The second test uses differential centrifugation techniques to enrich samples for parasitic organisms that can be visualized using a traditional Giemsa staining technique.

Our laboratory technicians recommend discontinuing use of all antibiotics for at least 2 weeks prior to your blood draw to allow for best results. As with all treatments, please consult with your physician regarding this decision.

We mail the results to your ordering physician within 10 business days from when we received the blood sample. A faxed copy of results can be faxed to the ordering physician's office only at the request of the patient or the ordering physician. The physician should then contact the patient once the results have been received.

The results should be discussed with your ordering physician. Fry Laboratories is not allowed to discuss patients' results with anyone other than the ordering physician.

Our turnaround time for testing is approximately 10 business days. While results may be available earlier than this, please allow extra time for mailing purposes.

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to mail or fax results to anyone other than the ordering physician.

At this time, Fry Laboratories does not accept insurance assignment. Our patients pay for their services up-front. We then provide a paid invoice within several weeks of processing payment. With the receipt, we mail tips/suggestions for submitting a claim to the insurance company. To submit claims, patients need to retrieve a claim form from their insurance company, fill it out, and turn it in along with their paid invoice. Since Fry Laboratories does not accept insurance assignment, we do not fill out these forms for our patients and are not responsible for any insurance reimbursements.

No. You will need to get all insurance forms and claim instructions from your insurance company directly.

Fry Laboratories recently contracted with Medicare. The Advanced Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) Forms as well as instructions for the ABN are located on the “Forms/Orders” link. Please read the instructions as it has valuable information regarding our billing process for Medicare patients. Please note that if Medicare does not reimburse the full amount for testing then the patient will be responsible for the remaining balance. When mailing in your specimen, please include a signed copy of your ABN form, your requisition (test order form) with a credit card included in the “payment” section, and a front and back copy of your Medicare ID card. For questions, please call our billing office at 480.292.8457.

We mail out paid invoices within several weeks of processing. We understand that paying for our services up front can be a financial burden. We do our best to process payments and mail receipts as soon as is possible so that you may submit a claim for reimbursement. To ensure efficiency, our receipts are mailed in batches. Therefore, we ask that you be patient with the processing. If there is a special circumstance in which a receipt is needed immediately, please call our Billing Office at 480.292.8457.