Bone Marrow

Auto text: “Insert Heme Standard”, “Insert Heme Aspirate”, “Insert Heme 1 Core”, “Insert Heme 2 Cores”, or “Insert Heme 3 Cores”

Considerations

  1. Bone marrow cut-off:
    • Bone marrows received before 5:15 pm must be grossed and submitted on the ROUTINE processing run (picked up by histology at 7:00 pm) the same day.
    • Bone marrows received after 5:15 pm should be held overnight and then grossed/submitted the following day.
  2. Prior to arrival in the gross room, all bone marrow specimens are:
    • Fixed in B5 for 3 to 4 hours after collection time (written on container by the hematology lab).
    • Placed in formalin in the hematology lab and sent to the gross room (time transferred to formalin written on sticker by the hematology lab).

Triage

The following triage instructions apply only to the marrow core which requires decalcification. The bone marrow aspirate does not require decalcification. Some specimens may not have a bone marrow aspirate.

  1. Measure (L x W) and place marrow core in a mesh bag in a cassette (A1 if unilateral, A1 & B1 if bilateral) and discard the formalin into formalin waste.
  2. Place the cassette(s) into the decal jar with stir bar and record time placed in decal.
  3. After 1.5 hours of decalcification, remove the cassette(s) from decal and record the time removed.
  4. Place cassette(s) in running water for 15 minutes.
  5. Remove cassette(s) from water and submit on the 7 pm ROUTINE processing run.
  6. At the end of each day, discard decal into the decal waste carboy and replace with fresh decal solution.

Gross

  1. Marrow core: See Triage above for decalcification instructions.
  2. Marrow aspirate: Strain through a mesh bag and submit entirely (usually B1). This specimen has NOT been fixed in B5 and does NOT require decalcification.
  3. Complete your gross description using one of the HEME templates.
  4. Submit all cassettes on the ROUTINE processing run.
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