In recent years, cancer research has started to shift from using
animal models to human tissues. Due to the change in the pattern of
research, investigators often need human tissue for research.
The tissue removed from the patient's body during surgery is sent
to the pathology department for examination. First the tissue
goes to the pathology grossing room, a small portion of the tissue
is used for microscopic examination and rest of the tissue is
discarded after ~3 weeks. The portion taken for microscopic
examination is embedded in paraffin known as paraffin blocks.
Sections from the paraffin blocks are taken to make slides. The
slides are used to generate pathological diagnosis and the reports
are released. Instead of discarding, the tissue can be processed in
a scientific manner to be used for research purposes.
TSC will scan the list of planned surgeries and will decide the
cases of interest. TSC will contact surgeon's office to request
permission to approach the patient for his/her consent. After
obtaining consent from the patient, we will request the surgeon to
send the tissue to pathology on ice (instead of formalin). We
will provide the ice container to collect the tissue. Immediately
after the tissue is released, it will be taken to the
pathology grossing room, where, first the tissue will be selected
for diagnosis and then only a portion of the tissue will be
collected by TSC for research.
Return to the Tissue Services Core
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