[Histonet] Unstained slides - how long are they good for?

[Morken, Timothy]

Paula, since it is variable we strive to not have unstained slides. We had kept them indefinitely, then when storage was overwhelming us we reduced it to 2 months maximum. Now we require request for unstained to be ordered in the system and delivered to the pathologist. We do not hold any in the lab. We recut when new stains are ordered. In the past we had routinely cut extras "just in case" but ended up with thousands of unstained slides that were never used. Instead we trained everyone to reduce wastage and get good sections from a cut block with minimal facing. We have not stored unstained sections for many years and they do not seem to be missed. 

Tim Morken
Pathology Site Manager, Parnassus 
Supervisor, Electron Microscopy/Neuromuscular Special Studies
Department of Pathology
UC San Francisco Medical Center


-----Original Message-----
From: P Sicurello via Histonet [mailto:histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu] 
Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2018 4:49 PM
To: HistoNet
Subject: [Histonet] Unstained slides - how long are they good for?

Hello My Fellow Histologists,

Happy Friday Eve.

The question has come up......  How long are *unstained* slides good for?
Not for H&E but tests like IHC and molecular testing.  These slides have
been cut, stored at room temperature, not sealed in anyway, and kept in a
cardboard box.

Please let me know what your opinions are and what your retention policy is
concerning *unstained* slides.

Thanks oodles.

Sincerely,

Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)CM

Histotechnology Specialist

UC San Diego Health

200 Arbor Drive

San Diego, CA 92103

(P): 619-543-2872



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