Cathy,

In New York State, our Department of Health, which licenses clinical
laboratories, requires that all blocks and slides be retained for a
minimum of twenty years.

The CAP requires the following:
accession records  -  2 years
wet tissue - 2 weeks after final report
paraffin blocks  -  5 years
slides  - 10 years.

You need to check what your state requirements are.

Vinnie
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Vinnie Della Speranza
Technical Director
Anatomic Pathology Laboratories
University Hospital & Medical Center
State University of New York at Stony Brook 11794-7025
(516) 444-8249
fax: (516) 444-3419
vdella@path.som.sunysb.edu