PRELIM LEC: STORAGE, RETENTION AND DISPOSAL Flashcards
After grossing and cutting sections for fixation, specimen must be returned to their original (leak-proof and airtight) containers, a safety measure
○ Prevents fume formation
○ Ensures fixative is at right level
STORAGE
Group specimens according to date for ease of finding
STORAGE
Placed in biohazard bags for incineration or burial
DISPOSAL
must be free from human and animal interference
Storage area
● Guidelines must be according to the hospital
● Documentation of:
○ Release to patient or authorized
representative
○ Details of specimen
○ Proper information of hazards of the tissue
and fixative
○ Proper disposal
RETURNING OF SPECIMEN TO PATIENT
buried for religious purposes
LIMBS and FETUSES
May be evidences for crime
○ Released to appropriate police authorities
and properly documented with Chain of
Custody (COC) form
BULLETS, BREAST IMPLANTS, and FOREIGN BODIES
Respect patient confidentiality
GALLSTONES, FOREIGN BODIES, ORTHOPEDIC
HARDWARE, and TEETH
● Must be in cool, dry place (otherwise, paraffin may melt or combust)
● Free from vermin and insects (may be eaten to access tissue)
● Paraffin blocks may form amorphous masses that may obscure ID
● Arranged according to year and surgical
pathology accession number for easy retrieval
PARAFFIN BLOCKS AND SLIDES STORAGE
● Borrowing slides/blocks to be viewed by another institution
● Logbook must be available
○ Patient data
○ Accession number
○ Purpose of borrowing
○ Recipient
○ Quantity
○ Date of release and return
○ Proper signatories
○ Pathologist who screened the slides
● Slides are transported with damage and breakage
prevention; having an insulation and shock-proof systems
● Deposit is a customary practice. Charging for new slides and cuts is also practiced.
● Preserve the original state of the materials
REQUEST FOR BLOCKS AND SLIDES
● Slides should be kept in sharp containers
● Paraffin blocks are treated as infectious, thus stored in pathologic waste bags
● Patient confidentiality must still be observed
● Slides may be used by resident pathologists and med students; may be used for further researchers
DISPOSAL
As suggested by College of American Pathologists
(CAP), 2010
RETENTION PERIODS
Requests, Accession logs, Maintenance and QC logs
STORAGE RECORDS
2 years
BB Quality Control
STORAGE RECORDS
5 years
BB employee signatures, patient records, donor, and recipient records
STORAGE RECORDS
10 years
Records of indefinitely/permanently deferred donors; forensic accession logs
STORAGE RECORDS
Indefinitely
Urine
STORAGE SPECIMENS
24 hours
Serum and other body fluids
STORAGE SPECIMENS
48 hours
Microbiology and blood smears
(routine)
STORAGE SPECIMENS
7 days
BB donor/recipient (blood)
STORAGE SPECIMENS
7 days post-transfusion
Surgical Tissues
STORAGE SPECIMENS
2 weeks after final report
Cytogenetic slides
STORAGE SPECIMENS
3 years
Cytology slides (e.g. PAP)
STORAGE SPECIMENS
5 years
Paraffin blocks
STORAGE SPECIMENS
10 years
Tissue, BM, FNA Slides
STORAGE SPECIMENS
10 years
Forensic: Blocks and Slides
STORAGE SPECIMENS
Indefinitely
Clinical Pathology (e.g. CC and Hema)
STORAGE REPORTS (RESULTS)
2 years
Anatomical/Surgical Pathology
STORAGE REPORTS (RESULTS)
10 years
Cytogenetics (final reports and photographs)
STORAGE REPORTS (RESULTS)
20 years
Forensic Autopsy
STORAGE REPORTS (RESULTS)
Indefinitely
