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WE pour - It's safer because it is one less expense thereby preventing unprovoked finance director attacks..... TIM ************************************************************************** Prof. Tim Reynolds, Clinical chemistry Dept., Queen's Hospital, Belvedere Rd., Burton-on-Trent. tel: +44 (0) 1283 511511 ext 4035 fax: +44 (0) 1283 593064 email: [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: c=GB;a=NHS;p=NHS NATIONAL INT;dda:RFC-822=ACB-CLIN-CHEM-GEN(a)JISCMAIL.AC.UK; Sent: 14 December 2000 17:01 To: c=GB;a=NHS;p=NHS NATIONAL INT;dda:RFC-822=ACB-CLIN-CHEM-GEN(a)JISCMAIL.AC.UK; Subject: Pouring serum Dear Colleagues, Thankyou to those who replied to my first posting about pouring serum. However, I was a little disappointed at the small number of responses to the specific questions I posed. Is this because we feel that our methods might be open to criticism if made public? I really would like to know how isolated (or otherwise) we are in our practice of pouring and whether Health and Safety or other practical considerations are driving the choice of method. In case you have lost the original posting I repeat it below in the hope that a few more of you may respond. Brian Senior Royal Bolton Hospital Bolton Greater Manchester BL4 0JR ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ We have been having a "debate" across pathology about the appropriate way to aliquot specimens for multiple destinations (different lab sections or external specialist labs) taking account of Health & Safety risks. Since we started using "gel" tubes it has become customary to pour an aliquot of serum into a separate tube. Originally this avoided use of glass pipettes which were a hazard, but even with plastic pipettes the possibility of an aerosol on pipetting was thought to be a hazard particularly in a very busy lab where it is done quickly. Apparently the HSE and other safety bodies do not consider pouring to be acceptable. They quote the "Howie" code which goes back a long time and which pre-dated the use of "gel" tubes so that pouring was difficult anyway. I am interested to know from others: 1. Do you pour or pipette aliquots of serum from "gel" tubes after centrifugation? 2. Do you know of any evidence comparing the safety of pouring v pipetting so that we can take evidence-based decisions? If you wish to reply directly to me rather than the mailbase I shall be happy to receive replies at [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> Brian Senior Royal Bolton Hospital Bolton Greater Manchester BL4 0JR