Laboratory specimen requirements

The Histopathology and Microbiology laboratories are not able to accept tissue specimens that need to be split or shared. Tissue specimens that need to be tested by both laboratories must be submitted separately to each laboratory, with the relevant orders on EPIC, and the appropriate labels on the containers. Collecting and splitting tissue must be done by the clinician obtaining the specimen.

Any delay to placing the specimens in the appropriate medium, or in getting the specimens to the appropriate laboratory for processing, introduces pre-analytical variables that impact the quality of the results, and subsequent diagnosis and patient management.

Effective from Wednesday 1 October 2025, GOSH will be implementing a new policy whereby laboratory results will only be released upon receipt of a valid Purchase Order (PO) number from the requesting external site. This change is being introduced to ensure accurate billing and streamline administrative processes.

We kindly ask all external partners to ensure that their teams are informed of this change and that appropriate procedures are in place to provide PO numbers with each request. More details can be found here.