[Histonet] paraffin block disposal
Good Afternoon All, Asking for a colleague,. How are sites disposing of old formalin fixed paraffin embedded surgical blocks? Garbage? Red bag? Thank you :) Melissa Kuhnla Lead Medical Technologist for IHC and FISH testing Regional Laboratory Services Good Samaritan Hospital 631-609-2551 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
Re: [Histonet] : Paraffin block disposal
The regulation says two years. I was always led to believe that for Pedi, it should 10 years past the age of 18. Some facilities add the phrase 'past sign out' onto the policy for disposal. The methods can vary according to facility and state. In some places that could mean in the trash, in others biohazard waste. If confused check with another long standing facility and a newer one in the area to get an idea of what should be done. I have usually placed them in the biohazard trash, so that there would be no issues with anything. Sincerely, Toysha N. Mayer, D.H.Sc., MBA, HT (ASCP) Instructor/Education Coordinator Program in Histotechnology School of Health Professions UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 713.563-3481 Message: 1 Date: Sat, 6 Jun 2015 10:24:42 -0700 From: Aimee Tolentino a.tolentin...@gmail.com To: Arbaugh, Roberta rarba...@csdermatology.com Cc: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: Re: [Histonet] Paraffin block disposal Message-ID: 1f36aba5-452b-4556-8d1e-e5d09fdb2...@gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii That's a good question. I'd like to know the answer myself to that. :) Sent from my iPhone On Jun 5, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Arbaugh, Roberta rarba...@csdermatology.com wrote: Per CLIA we only need to keep paraffin blocks two years. What is the proper way to dispose of them? DISCLAIMER: The information in this message is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this message by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, or distribution of the message, or any action or omission taken by you in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Please immediately contact the sender if you have received this message in error. Thank you. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
Re: [Histonet] : Paraffin block disposal
All, Any blocks for patients on clinical trials should also be kept to the end of the trial (please flag them and keep them somewhere) or sent to the cooperative group as the patient did consent for use of their blocks (usually) for future use. As well, one block is not always sufficient as that person may end up on more than one trial and need a different block (like a LN when a tumor block was originally needed). Bernice Bernice Frederick HTL (ASCP) Senior Research Tech Pathology Core Facility Robert. H. Lurie Cancer Center Northwestern University 710 N Fairbanks Court Olson 8-421 Chicago,IL 60611 312-503-3723 b-freder...@northwestern.edu -Original Message- From: Mayer,Toysha N [mailto:tnma...@mdanderson.org] Sent: Monday, June 08, 2015 9:02 AM To: 'histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu' Subject: Re: [Histonet] : Paraffin block disposal The regulation says two years. I was always led to believe that for Pedi, it should 10 years past the age of 18. Some facilities add the phrase 'past sign out' onto the policy for disposal. The methods can vary according to facility and state. In some places that could mean in the trash, in others biohazard waste. If confused check with another long standing facility and a newer one in the area to get an idea of what should be done. I have usually placed them in the biohazard trash, so that there would be no issues with anything. Sincerely, Toysha N. Mayer, D.H.Sc., MBA, HT (ASCP) Instructor/Education Coordinator Program in Histotechnology School of Health Professions UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 713.563-3481 Message: 1 Date: Sat, 6 Jun 2015 10:24:42 -0700 From: Aimee Tolentino a.tolentin...@gmail.com To: Arbaugh, Roberta rarba...@csdermatology.com Cc: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: Re: [Histonet] Paraffin block disposal Message-ID: 1f36aba5-452b-4556-8d1e-e5d09fdb2...@gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii That's a good question. I'd like to know the answer myself to that. :) Sent from my iPhone On Jun 5, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Arbaugh, Roberta rarba...@csdermatology.com wrote: Per CLIA we only need to keep paraffin blocks two years. What is the proper way to dispose of them? DISCLAIMER: The information in this message is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this message by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, or distribution of the message, or any action or omission taken by you in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Please immediately contact the sender if you have received this message in error. Thank you. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
Re: [Histonet] : Paraffin block disposal
At this institution, we cite CAP's guidelines (ANP.12500) in our retention policy as a minimum of 10 year retention, prior to disposal of patient tissues. In practice we go further than that--we've never discarded a patient's blocks. The only thing we ever gotten rid of was animal research tissues, and even then, sparingly. They make great practice tissue blocks for histology students! Brian Cooper CHLA -Original Message- From: Mayer,Toysha N [mailto:tnma...@mdanderson.org] Sent: Monday, June 08, 2015 7:02 AM To: 'histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu' Subject: Re: [Histonet] : Paraffin block disposal The regulation says two years. I was always led to believe that for Pedi, it should 10 years past the age of 18. Some facilities add the phrase 'past sign out' onto the policy for disposal. The methods can vary according to facility and state. In some places that could mean in the trash, in others biohazard waste. If confused check with another long standing facility and a newer one in the area to get an idea of what should be done. I have usually placed them in the biohazard trash, so that there would be no issues with anything. Sincerely, Toysha N. Mayer, D.H.Sc., MBA, HT (ASCP) Instructor/Education Coordinator Program in Histotechnology School of Health Professions UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 713.563-3481 Message: 1 Date: Sat, 6 Jun 2015 10:24:42 -0700 From: Aimee Tolentino a.tolentin...@gmail.com To: Arbaugh, Roberta rarba...@csdermatology.com Cc: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: Re: [Histonet] Paraffin block disposal Message-ID: 1f36aba5-452b-4556-8d1e-e5d09fdb2...@gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii That's a good question. I'd like to know the answer myself to that. :) Sent from my iPhone On Jun 5, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Arbaugh, Roberta rarba...@csdermatology.com wrote: Per CLIA we only need to keep paraffin blocks two years. What is the proper way to dispose of them? DISCLAIMER: The information in this message is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this message by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, or distribution of the message, or any action or omission taken by you in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Please immediately contact the sender if you have received this message in error. Thank you. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet - CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of this original message. - ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
Re: [Histonet] Paraffin block disposal
I agree with Brian, but we dispose of blocks by treating them as regulated biohazard waste. We also blocks them longer than 2 years. The CLIA regulation states keeping them for a minimum of 2 years. Outside facilities frequently request unstained slides or blocks on cases that are more than 2 years old. Also, some patients require treatment for conditions for many years after the specimen is taken. If storage is not an issue, keeping blocks 10 years (CAP requirements) is reasonable. Brendal C. Finlay, HT (ASCP) Senior Histologist Medical Center Clinic, P.A 8333 North Davis Highway Pensacola, FL 32514 Phone 850.474.8581 Fax 850.474.8584 -Original Message- From: Cooper, Brian bcoo...@chla.usc.edu To: a.tolentin...@gmail.com Cc: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Date: 06/06/2015 13:34 Subject: Re: [Histonet] Paraffin block disposal Hey Aimee, This has been discussed several times on Histonet. It sounds like it depends on the institution. Since they're FFPE, pathogens are not a concern. I didn't reply to all because someone will shout out, What about CJD? and then I would have to punch them. They should be able to go into the regular trash though, since there is nothing that anyone can catch from them. Here, just like Genzyme, we are told to dispose of them as regulated, biohazard waste. You would have PHI concerns if the patient's name is on them, so they'll need to be identified first . . . Thanks, Brian Cooper, HT (ASCP) Supervisor, Histology Children's Hospital, Los Angeles Sent from my Galaxy S5, so please forgive any weird typos . . . -Original Message- From: Aimee Tolentino [a.tolentin...@gmail.com] Received: Saturday, 06 Jun 2015, 10:25AM To: Arbaugh, Roberta [rarba...@csdermatology.com] CC: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] Subject: Re: [Histonet] Paraffin block disposal That's a good question. I'd like to know the answer myself to that. :) Sent from my iPhone On Jun 5, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Arbaugh, Roberta rarba...@csdermatology.com wrote: Per CLIA we only need to keep paraffin blocks two years. What is the proper way to dispose of them? DISCLAIMER: The information in this message is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this message by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, or distribution of the message, or any action or omission taken by you in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Please immediately contact the sender if you have received this message in error. Thank you. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet - CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of this original message. - ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
Re: [Histonet] Paraffin block disposal
That's a good question. I'd like to know the answer myself to that. :) Sent from my iPhone On Jun 5, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Arbaugh, Roberta rarba...@csdermatology.com wrote: Per CLIA we only need to keep paraffin blocks two years. What is the proper way to dispose of them? DISCLAIMER: The information in this message is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this message by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, or distribution of the message, or any action or omission taken by you in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Please immediately contact the sender if you have received this message in error. Thank you. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
Re: [Histonet] Paraffin block disposal
Hey Aimee, This has been discussed several times on Histonet. It sounds like it depends on the institution. Since they're FFPE, pathogens are not a concern. I didn't reply to all because someone will shout out, What about CJD? and then I would have to punch them. They should be able to go into the regular trash though, since there is nothing that anyone can catch from them. Here, just like Genzyme, we are told to dispose of them as regulated, biohazard waste. You would have PHI concerns if the patient's name is on them, so they'll need to be identified first . . . Thanks, Brian Cooper, HT (ASCP) Supervisor, Histology Children's Hospital, Los Angeles Sent from my Galaxy S5, so please forgive any weird typos . . . -Original Message- From: Aimee Tolentino [a.tolentin...@gmail.com] Received: Saturday, 06 Jun 2015, 10:25AM To: Arbaugh, Roberta [rarba...@csdermatology.com] CC: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] Subject: Re: [Histonet] Paraffin block disposal That's a good question. I'd like to know the answer myself to that. :) Sent from my iPhone On Jun 5, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Arbaugh, Roberta rarba...@csdermatology.com wrote: Per CLIA we only need to keep paraffin blocks two years. What is the proper way to dispose of them? DISCLAIMER: The information in this message is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this message by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, or distribution of the message, or any action or omission taken by you in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Please immediately contact the sender if you have received this message in error. Thank you. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet - CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential or legally privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of this original message. - ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Paraffin block disposal
Per CLIA we only need to keep paraffin blocks two years. What is the proper way to dispose of them? DISCLAIMER: The information in this message is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this message by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, or distribution of the message, or any action or omission taken by you in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. Please immediately contact the sender if you have received this message in error. Thank you. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] paraffin block disposal in NYS
As per NYS department of Health: Questions have also arisen regarding the appropriate disposal of organs and tissues which have been fixed for cytological and/or histological examination. Since the fixatives are considered to be hazardous materials, organs and tissues discarded with these chemicals must be processed as hazardous waste, except for blocks of tissue in paraffin or similar embedding materials. The latter prevent the fixatives from leaching into the environment and the chemical fixatives destroy any potential pathogens in the tissue block. Therefore, tissue blocks can be discarded as solid waste. Annette Featherstone ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
