For

During diagnostic procedures larger samples of body fluids and tissues are usually collected than strictly necessary for primary testing, “just in case.” The big advantage is, of course, that the patient does not need to be bothered if further testing is required. Furthermore, therapeutic surgical procedures usually yield large samples from which only a part is needed for diagnostic confirmation. All this leads to a vast volume of leftover samples, which are usually stored in laboratories for a period to serve the direct interest of the patient. Consent for this use is implicit in the consent obtained from patients for the diagnosis and treatment of their disease.

However, when the current disease period has ended a dilemma emerges with regard to this leftover body material: to discard or to keep? To discard saves costs and space, but to keep the material has many advantages, not least for patients themselves. During the course of a disease the pathologist often has to return to such material for additional or new diagnostic procedures or prognostic tests. This …