Frequently Asked Questions on Biospecimen Recovery
- What is considered a standard biospecimen recovery? A standard biospecimen recovery includes biospecimens that come from specific locations on which our expert team of recovery technicians are extensively trained. The anatomy is also complimented by one of our standard preservation techniques utilizing an appropriate preservation media to ensure consistency in biospecimen sample quality.
- Define what a custom biospecimen recovery is comprised of? A custom biospecimen recovery project features the collection of multiple tissue types, advanced dissection and preservation methods, and minimal time from donor identification to preservation.
- What does postmortem interval time mean? Postmortem interval (PMI) time is the time from cessation of blood flow to when the tissue arrives at the researcher’s location.
- What is warm ischemia? Warm ischemia is the interval of time from cessation of blood flow to the time when the biospecimen is exposed to a preservation solution.
- What is cold ischemia? Cold ischemia is the interval of time from when the biospecimen was exposed to a preservation solution to the time when it was received by the researcher.
- What are common preservation methods? The most common biospecimens preservation methods include freezing or placement into media or fixation solution and immediately shipped to the researcher.
- What are additional processing requirements? Some preservation methods require more than one step such as a rinse prior to final media preservation, formalin fixed paraffin embedded, or optimal cutting temperature samples. LifeNet Health can accommodate specific researcher requirements and works with the researcher to provide the specific preservation methods necessary for project success.
- What is an organ/tissue flush? In some instances, researchers may require a vascular flush of the organ or tissue. LifeNet has experiences with this technique and can build this into research projects.
- What types of media are used in solid organ donation? Belzer UW/UW Solution/Viaspan is the gold standard and most common solution to preserve solid organs for transplant. HTK (Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate) Solution or Custodial HTK Solution is also used by several US based organ procurement organizations. Some less expensive alternatives that support research organ and tissue preservation include Lactated Ringers Solution, saline, and DMEM.
- What do I need to know about disease? The presence or absence of specific diseases is important for many research projects. When establishing the donor eligibility parameters for any human biospecimen recovery project the requirements need to be very specific and list diseases of interest and diseases that should be excluded.
- How do co-morbidities impact research? Most post-mortem donors have co-morbid diseases. Knowing how these affect the targeted biospecimen is very important when designing a research study using human organs and tissues.
- How can patient treatment(s) interfere with my study? Many post-mortem donors will have various ongoing treatments at the time of their death. Certain treatments like chemotherapy have systemic affects that can damage the research biospecimen. When working with LifeNet Health to build your donor profile, pay careful attention to how various treatments could impact your project.
- Should I be careful regarding previous surgeries? Yes, previous surgeries can help in understanding a donor’s health history. As an example, if your project requires a non-diseased heart, you will want to exclude any donor with previous cardiac surgery.