Dear Vinnie,

	Sounds like your being asked to use disposable blades.  In the last histo
lab I managed I used gold plated high profile blades by Sturkey.  They were
great, cut all sorts of tissues and materials, in section thickness's from
3 um to 60 um, & had a respectable 'life-span'.  The 60 um stuff was whole
frozen mouse!  
	These blades don't cost much more than ordinary disposables, can be kept
safely in the cryostat cabinet, & if you have to replace between patients
its not a big deal.
	That last point seems a bit extreme to me, I agree that you want to use a
fresh portion of the blade, but a whole new blade per patient, that would
be a nightmare with the old solid steel blades.

	Regards

	Rob W.

At 13:08 06/26/2000 -0400, you wrote:
>in the aftermath of an employee injury, our safety officer is insisting
that we remove cryostat knives at the end of the shift (leaving no blade in
the cyrostat over night) and change blades in between patients. She claims
that failure to do so would be a violation of OSHA's requirements for safe
work practices. The employee nicked her thumb while tidying up the interior
of one of our units.
>We commonly juggle frozen section specimens from more than one patient
simulataneously. We are a busy facility with a very large transplant
program. It is not uncommon for pathologists to be called to do frozens at
odd hours, hence the need for a cold knife that is ready to go at all times.
>I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter and from facilities who
might be using practices similar to that being asked of us. Thanks
>Vinnie Della Speranza
>Manager for Anatomic Pathology Services
>Medical University of South Carolina
>165 Ashley Avenue, Suite 309
>Charleston, SC  29425
>ph:  (843) 792-6353,  fax: (843) 792-8974,  email: Dellav@musc.edu


R. Wadley, B.App.Sc. M.L.S, Grad.Dip.Sc.MM
Laboratory Manager
Cellular Analysis Facility
School of Microbiology & Immunology
UNSW, New South Wales, Australia, 2052
Ph (BH) 	+61 (2) 9385 3517
Ph (AH)	+61 (2) 9564 0570
Fax 	+61 (2) 9385 1591
Mobile	0411 874 470
E-mail	r.wadley@unsw.edu.au
www	http://www.micro.unsw.edu.au/framescen.html