Sample Collection for CHW Tumour Bank

Tumour specimens are selected by an experienced pathologist once all diagnostic requirements have been met. Samples are snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80°C. In general, the time from excision in the Operating Theatre, to freezing in Pathology ranges between 5 to 20 minutes.

Blood, bone marrow and CSF samples, in aliquots of 2mls or less, are placed on dry ice immediately after extraction, and snap frozen in liquid nitrogen in the laboratory. Time from venipuncture to snap freezing ranges from 5-10 minutes. Time from marrow or CSF extraction to snap freezing ranges from 5-15 minutes. All specimens are subsequently stored in a -80°C freezer.

Slides containing dried smears of bone marrow are also available.

In some circumstances, specimens stored within other Hospital departments may be available and can be requested by the Tumour Bank to further support research applications.