Androlog Mail:
Dr. Tyler has raised some interesting questions regarding the often
routine practice of storing old smears of stained sperm. I agree with his
premise and would also question the need for storing these slides. The
College of American Pathologists Andrology Checklist requires that semen
slides be retained for at least 30 days for future reference, and failure
to do so results in a Phase I deficiency. So I guess if you want to have
your lab accredited by CAP, then storing these smears for at least one
month is required. But, except for the need to keep a file of unusual and
abnormal slides for training purposes, etc., I don't see the need for
keeping such slides. It seems to me that perhaps we save these slides
because it is the only "savable thing" that results from a semen analysis,
unless you freeze the ejaculate so that you can remeasure the semen volume
at a later date!! I don't know about the rest of you, but my lab is
already inundated with stuff we have to keep as it is. If you have to
keep the smears for 30 days to satisfy CAP, throw them away after that
time and use the storage space for something more productive!!
Brooks Keel, Ph.D., HCLD
bkeel@kumc.edu
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