Christmas Holiday Shipment Schedules


Operational Update

Domestic Clients

For the Christmas holiday, Mayo Clinic Laboratories' specimen pickup and delivery schedules will be altered. To ensure specimen viability and prevent turnaround time delays, follow the guidelines below.

  • Delays are possible. Shipments sent Friday, Dec. 22 or Saturday, Dec. 23, may not arrive until Tuesday, Dec. 26, at the earliest when using FedEx or UPS. To help minimize sample impact, shipping carriers have been adjusted for the best possible outcome.
  • Specimens shipped on Saturday, Dec. 23 via FedEx or UPS may not arrive until Wednesday, Dec. 27. Therefore, the recommendation is to hold samples – especially refrigerated samples – at your facility.
  • Self-shippers: If you choose to ship via UPS or FedEx, add additional frozen cool packs to refrigerate shipments and use sufficient dry ice to cover the extended transit time.

Domestic client shipping to Mayo Clinic Laboratories

Friday, Dec. 22           

  • Normal pickups
  • Shipping adjustments: UPS clients moved to FedEx or Delta.

Saturday, Dec. 23

  • Mayo Clinic Laboratories recommends not to ship FedEx or UPS.
  • Normal pickups remain for clients wishing to ship.
  • Shipping adjustments: UPS clients moved to FedEx or Delta.   

Sunday, Dec. 24

  • Normal pickups

Monday, Dec. 25

  • No pickups

Tuesday, Dec. 26

  • Normal pickups

For questions, please contact Customer Service at 800-533-1710 and ask to be forwarded to the Global Logistics specialist.

International Clients

The United States will observe the Christmas holiday on Monday, Dec. 25. On this day, Mayo Clinic Laboratories will be open; however, sample shipments and deliveries to our laboratories will not be made by the carriers.

To safeguard your samples, we strongly recommend the following guidelines for international shipments except for clients in Saudi Arabia:

  • For shipments with a one-day transit time, do not ship on Saturday, Dec. 23 & Sunday, Dec. 24.
  • For shipments with two or three-day transit times, do not ship on Thursday, Dec. 21 or Friday, Dec. 22, as these shipments could incur potential delays per U.S. Customs and operations. They may not be delivered until Wednesday, Dec. 27 or later. Please hold irretrievable samples in stability.
  • Normal carrier (UPS, FedEx, DHL) deliveries will resume Tuesday, Dec. 26. Please ensure “Saturday Delivery” is selected on your airway bill when creating shipments as per standard shipping process.

International client shipping to Mayo Clinic Laboratories

Thursday, Dec. 21

  • 1-day transit: OK to ship
  • 2-day transit: OK to ship
  • 3-day transit: Do not ship

Friday, Dec. 22

  • 1-day transit: OK to ship
  • 2-day transit: Do not ship
  • 3-day transit: Do not ship

Saturday, Dec. 23

  • 1-day transit: Do not ship
  • 2-day transit: Do not ship
  • 3-day transit:OK to ship

Sunday, Dec. 24

  • 1-day transit: Do not ship (except for clients in Saudi Arabia)
  • 2-day transit: OK to ship
  • 3-day transit:OK to ship

Monday, Dec. 25

  • No pickups

Tuesday, Dec. 26

  • OK to ship

For questions and concerns, please send an email to RSTMMLTRANSINTL@mayo.edu or to your international regional service representative.

Mayo Clinic Laboratories

This post was authored by the Marketing Team at Mayo Clinic Laboratories.