Tissue Banking Overview: Washington University Medical Center

8/21/2012
General procedure
‣ Use a Tissue Procurement Specimen Bag – these contain a white-label area with a
TPC-provided number written on them. Do not use any other container or bag. If
no bags are available call the TPC (4-7615) to obtain more bags.
‣ Check the specimen submission sheet from the OR and verify that the specimen is
acceptable for tissue banking (i.e. the specimen is not marked for special studies
such as immunofluorescence requiring immersion in special fixatives).
‣ Fill out the patient information on the sheet titled "Tumor Bank Tissue Collection"
which is located next to the cryobath. On the left-hand side of this sheet, place the
patient information. Important: include the surgical pathology number here. On
the right-hand side, place the bag's number, tissue type, and "collected by" person
(pathologist or PA who actually procured the banking specimen)
‣ Do not label the TPC bag with any patient or clinical information; instead place
that on the sheet.
General procedure,
continued
‣ Place a single tissue specimen flat in the plastic bag. A single tissue specimen's volume
should be at least 0.5 cm 3 , and at most 3 – 4 cm 3 , with at least one dimension measuring
< 0.5cm thick for quick freezing.
‣ Collect non-malignant and malignant tissue. Non-malignant (i.e. "adjacent normal") tissue
should be collected > 2 cm from the primary tumor, subject to any geometric limitations.
Do not place tumor and non-malignant tissue in the same bag.
‣ If feasible, collect and separately identify both: 1) primary tumor and 2) metastatic lesions to
lymph nodes or other tissues.
‣ 5-7mm skin punch biopsy instrument can be considered, instead of a scalpel blade, as a way
to get samples fromdifficult cases
‣ TPC's 2-methylbutane bath (-50C) immediately afterwards
‣ Goal: bankable tissue immersed in bath