Blood Testing – Frequently Asked Questions

Thriva Solutions, a Thriva Limited brand provides Superdrug customers with a venous draw service. Customers can purchase a health test and book a blood test with a Superdrug nurse or phlebotomist.
Thriva Solutions labs are fully accredited by UKAS (ISO151189 or ISO17025) who check their quality assurance and safety regularly.
All blood results are reviewed and reported by NHS practising GPs.

Most of our tests are clearly named to help you to decide if it is the correct test for you e.g. Thyroid Blood Test or Vitamin D Blood Tests.
If you would like a more general overview of your health we suggest that you book a General Health Check or Metabolic Health Check to start your journey.

Superdrug have over 60 nurse clinics in England, Scotland and Wales that are able to offer blood testing. When you have selected your test, book an appointment at your local clinic.
You should attend your appointment at the correct time, our clinics are signposted in the Superdrug store, but if you have any problems finding it please ask any member of staff.
When you attend clinic please wait in the waiting area until the nurse calls you in for
your appointment.

The nurse will need to take a small amount of blood from your arm. If you’re nervous about having blood taken please speak to the nurse and they will do their best to put you at ease.
Some of our tests require additional information (e.g. height, weight, blood pressure) – the nurse will take these measurements, and complete a health questionnaire with any information relevant to your test.
Thriva Solutions provides the labs and analysis for Superdrug Blood Tests, in order to process your test you will be asked to agree to being signed up for an account with Thriva Solutions. This will allow you access to the portal to retrieve your results.

Thriva Solutions are our lab and analysis provider who will share your results within 3-5 days. If taking an Omegas test your results will be shared within 2 weeks. They’ll email and text you to let you know your blood samples have been received, processed, and are ready to view online in your results dashboard. You will be able to access your data at any time.
You will need to consent to the nurse setting up a Thriva account for you and your personal data being entered on the Thriva patient portal. Thriva’s privacy notice can be found here and we recommend that you read this to understand how your data will be processed and shared.

If the test that you select requires you to fast (not eat or drink anything except water for 10-14 hours before the sample collection) it will clearly state this on the test web page and confirmation email. If you are unable to fast you can still have the test but please let the nurse know so that your results can be reviewed accordingly.
Some hormonal tests are required to be taken on a specific day, this will be clear in the test information and on the confirmation email.
In general we recommend that you prepare for your test by keeping hydrated, drinking plenty of water, and if you can keep your arm warm ahead of the appointment. Wear clothing that is loose fitting so the nurse can access your arm easily.

A blood test can tell you a lot about your health. You might do a blood test to check:
• Vitamin and mineral levels
• Cholesterol levels
• How well certain organs are functioning
• Thyroid function
• Genetic conditions
• Infection
As well as giving you a snapshot of your current health, you can use a blood test to keep track of your risk of long-term chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

Superdrug blood tests are available for patients aged 18 years and older.

You can find the Thriva Privacy policy here.

Your blood test appointment is booked for 20 minutes in order for our nurse to be able to talk you through the process and make you feel comfortable.

If you’re unable to make your appointment please cancel on our booking portal here. There will be no charge if you need to cancel or reschedule the appointment if you contact us no later than twenty-four (24) hours before your appointment time. After this time you will be charged a £20 cancellation fee if you booked your appointment online.

During your appointment, your nurse or pharmacist will discuss the charges for any of services you require and these will be payable in the clinic during your appointment.

Please contact the Thriva Customer Experience Team at Hello@thriva.co, who will be happy to assist.

Please contact the Thriva Customer Experience Team at Hello@thriva.co, who will be happy to assist.

Having a blood test should not cause any significant side effects as only a small amount of blood is taken. However, some people may feel faint or dizzy at the time of the blood draw or experience mild bruising at the blood taking site, which should resolve on its own. If you have ever experienced any side-effects with having blood taken in the past, please let your nurse know so they can help support you.

We don’t advise stopping medication for any reason. It’s best to just update your health profile to include the medication that you are on when you take the test. So the doctor can take this into account when they write your report.

We recommend testing while maintaining your normal lifestyle (including supplement intake) — so you have a true grasp of your health.
For example, if taking supplements is part of your lifestyle week to week — then that’s your status quo and you should test as normal.
However, this doesn’t apply if you’re taking Biotin supplements. Biotin intake can affect some results so we would recommend not taking the supplement for a couple of days before the test.
If you would like to see how your results are impacted by removing supplements from your diet — then you should take the test four or so weeks after your last consumption of the vitamins.
This is also the same duration of time we recommend for those who have been taking medication to allow the medicine to leave their system.

If you had a blood test with Melio Health at Superdrug, you can still access your results via your account. If you have any queries please contact customer_support@meliohealth.com or call 01242 504 458.