The Tissue Processing and Procurement Facility (TPPF) of the Laboratory of Pathology (LP) is staffed by two Pathologists Assistants (PAs for Pathology) and a Technical Laboratory Manager (TLM), each also supports the Clinical Operations and Histology services. The TPPF also houses LP's frozen section room, and is contiguous to the Clinical Center's Operating Rooms. The connection to the OR allows LP's PAs to support tissue procurement inside the OR or immediately after collection and delivery to the TPPF. This allows immediate processing and preservation of tissues procured for diagnosis and research. The TLM and PAs coordinate tissue procurements in the operating room (OR), which entails facilitation of the complex procurements that often involve multiple investigators and multiple protocols. PAs work with investigators, identifying what tissues need to be procured, how they are to be stabilized and what protocols allow the tissue procurement to occur. The PA also works with the senior resident, and between the perform most of the procurements. This system allows as many investigators as possible to benefit while meeting the standard-of-care for anatomic pathology. For calendar year 2016, TPPF staff processed more than 4,200 specimens to support tissue procurements for more than 260 NIH investigators for approximately 155 protocols. The WRNMMC tissue bank is still in its development stage, and has amassed just over 370 frozen and 360 ffpe blocks from more than 250 anonymized cases. As a significant inventory is collected and database of available tissues built, this biomaterial and associated clinical information will be made available to NIH investigators. Each request for specimens will be reviewed by a Tissue Resource Committee of Pathologists and regulatory administrative staff in LP.
