RAPID IN-SITU HARVESTING AND CYTOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF PERINATAL TISSUESAMPLES

Thirty perinatal solid tissue samples were used in a pilot study to te st the efficacy of collagenase disaggregation onto coverslips, open sy stem culture under low O-2 conditions, pre-harvest incubation in bromo deoxyuridine (BrdU) and colcemid, and in situ automated harvesting. Fo llowing the success of the pilot study, the new method was applied to a further 126 consecutive diagnostic samples making a total of 156. Th e method reduced average tissue culture times from 17 to 8.7 days (ran ge 2-17), improved success rates from 76 to 88 per cent, and simultane ously increased the resolution of cytogenetic analysis.