CONTINUING ROLE OF A FROZEN-TISSUE BANK IN MOLECULAR PATHOLOGY

The growth of molecular diagnostics and its application in various cli nical laboratories have made it necessary to standardize the methods u sed to freeze and store tissues used in molecular testing. It may now be advantageous to preserve fresh tissues and other specimen types in a central frozen-tissue bank so that sample preparation and storage co nditions are appropriate for molecular applications and so that the sp ecimen inventory can be efficiently managed. The pathology laboratory is a logical site for this facility because the professional and techn ical expertise available is focused on the complex scientific and regu latory aspects of laboratory medicine. Organizationally, the tissue-ba nk program should be overseen by a surgical pathologist to integrate i t into routine surgical pathology activities. A member of the laborato ry technical staff can serve as the tissue-bank coordinator with respo nsibility for systematic storage and retrieval of specimens and routin e maintenance of equipment and supplies. To facilitate the tissue-free zing procedure and efficient storage of multiple types of specimens, 2 .0 ml cryogenic vials are used as the uniform storage container. All s pecimens are stored at -140 to -150 degrees C in the vapor phase of li quid nitrogen. The specimen inventory data are maintained with a compu terized program specifically designed to manage complex specimen stora ge. A frozen-tissue bank is easily implemented in a pathology laborato ry and is a valuable institutional asset for diagnostic and research p urposes.