Preparation of a thick blood smear. Place a drop of blood in the center of a slide. Use the corner of another slide to mix and spread the blood from the center of the drop outwards. Use a circular motion to spread the blood to about the size of a small coin, circling out, back to the center and back out again several times. Allow to air dry, may take 30 minutes or even more. Do not fix in methanol. Either rinse in distilled water then stain, or stain directly. Use Giemsa. Copyright ITM