[Histonet] Kidney bx transport

[Gagnon, Eric]

We receive kidney biopsies brought directly to our grossing area within a few minutes after the cores are obtained. Previously, this was done by nephrologists, but since the renal biopsies are performed in radiology, the interventional radiologist brings them. We decide adequacy first, then apportion specimen to EM, IF and formalin.



Similar to the protocol Tim has mentioned, our cores are received on saline-soaked pads in a petri dish. We transfer them to a slide wetted with saline to assess under light microscopy.



It seems to come down to a decision of who wants to go where :) The IVR folks are willing to bring the biopsies to our laboratory - they get instant feedback, and often use the exchange for teaching purposes as we are a tertiary care academic centre. Another factor would be the location of microscope used for visualizing adequacy of the cores. The distance between the two locations is not huge, and there is always an MLT instantly available to assess the cores.



Rarely has this system had hiccups. Occasionally, the adequacy is a question-mark, and we err on the side of asking IVR to obtain more tissue. This is usually delivered within 5-10 minutes after we request it.



Hope this helps,



Eric Gagnon MLT

Histology Laboratory

Kingston General Hospital

Kingston, Ontario, Canada