If culture medium is not available, sterile saline in a sterile tube can be used. If skin is also to be studied by light and electron microscopy, please divide the specimen into tissue culture medium and glutaraldehyde. If your patient undergoes surgery for skeletal reconstruction, iliac crest is often used for fusions and specimens may be available at the time of surgery. Vertebral specimens may also be available during certain procedures. Please try to prepare the specimens as previously listed.
Femoral heads obtained during hip replacement can be quite useful.
Divide the remainder into fourths. Place one fourth in formalin and freeze the rest. They may be sent as viably frozen cells on dry ice or as growing cells in two T-25 flasks. Flasks should be filled with medium to exclude all air, sealed and sent at room temperature. It is important that the tubes for lymphoblastoid lines be filled almost completely because the material in the tubes can be toxic to the cells.