[Histonet] patient taking tissue

Mon Apr 10 09:48:24 CDT 2017

Our hospital has a policy against releasing soft tissue to anyone except a funeral home.  Realizing that some religions require one to be buried with all their body parts, release to a funeral home meets those requirements without someone finding human remains years down the road, with no record.

Terri L. Braud, HT(ASCP)
Anatomic Pathology Supervisor
Laboratory
Holy Redeemer Hospital
1648 Huntingdon Pike
Meadowbrook, PA 19046
ph: 215-938-3689
fax: 215-938-3874
Care, Comfort, and Heal

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Sent: Sunday, April 09, 2017 1:00 PM
To: histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: Histonet Digest, Vol 161, Issue 8

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Today's Topics:

   1. Return of Gross Only Specimens for Patient Use (ian bernard)
   2. Re: Return of Gross Only Specimens for Patient Use
      (Cartun, Richard)

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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2017 12:38:31 -0600
From: "ian bernard" <ian.bernard at comcast.net>
To: <histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu>
Subject: [Histonet] Return of Gross Only Specimens for Patient Use
Message-ID: <007001d2b097$533a5dd0$f9af1970$@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

1.       Per a patient request, before returning an amputated digit (toe) to
a patient, we will remove the 10 % NBF from the tissue by washing the tissue
in running water for how long?   

2.       As an alternative, we can have the provider submit the gross only
toe in saline and then relinquish the toe to the patient, explaining that ultimate degradation of the toe is inevitable unless fixed. Is there another safe fixative alternative that  can preserve the toe, say 100% alcohol and for how long?  The patient wants to keep his body parts for his burial.

3.       We will have the patient sign a  document explaining the exposure
risk to formalin fixed tissue as well as a release of medical records request form. Your thoughts?  

4.       Is there any other validated procedure to remove formalin from
foreign bodies devices or tissue before release to the patient?

Note: The transaction above will take place 2-weeks after the case has been signed out and reported to the referring provider.  Your feedback?

v/r

IB

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Message: 2
Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2017 14:32:17 +0000
From: "Cartun, Richard" <Richard.Cartun at hhchealth.org>
To: ian bernard <ian.bernard at comcast.net>
Cc: "histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu"
	<histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu>
Subject: Re: [Histonet] Return of Gross Only Specimens for Patient Use
Message-ID:
	<9215BD4B0BA1B44D962A71C758B68D2E954159AA at HHCEXCHMB03.hhcsystem.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I strongly discourage patients from taking their tissue out of the hospital.  Once the specimen in placed in formalin it becomes a bio-hazard.  We will release certain specimens for burial; however, the patient (or family) must contact a funeral home or mortuary to pick-up the specimen, and they must sign a release.

Richard

Richard W. Cartun, MS, PhD
Director, Histology & The Martin M. Berman, MD Immunopathology & Morphologic Proteomics Laboratory Director, Biospecimen Collection Programs Assistant Director, Anatomic Pathology Hartford Hospital
80 Seymour Street
Hartford, CT  06102
(860) 972-1596
(860) 545-2204 Fax

-----Original Message-----
From: ian bernard via Histonet [mailto:histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu]
Sent: Saturday, April 08, 2017 2:39 PM
To: histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Return of Gross Only Specimens for Patient Use

1.       Per a patient request, before returning an amputated digit (toe) to
a patient, we will remove the 10 % NBF from the tissue by washing the tissue in running water for how long?

2.       As an alternative, we can have the provider submit the gross only
toe in saline and then relinquish the toe to the patient, explaining that ultimate degradation of the toe is inevitable unless fixed. Is there another safe fixative alternative that  can preserve the toe, say 100% alcohol and for how long?  The patient wants to keep his body parts for his burial.

3.       We will have the patient sign a  document explaining the exposure
risk to formalin fixed tissue as well as a release of medical records request form. Your thoughts?

4.       Is there any other validated procedure to remove formalin from
foreign bodies devices or tissue before release to the patient?

Note: The transaction above will take place 2-weeks after the case has been signed out and reported to the referring provider.  Your feedback?

v/r

IB

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