A little trick I learned while in South Bend,IN was to add a small amount of Safronin O to the formalin.  We now make about a 0.004(or less)% of Safronin /10% formalin and have a small container next to the grossing area.  After cassetting the biopsies or other small "no C-ems", are placed directly in the solution (anywhere from five minutes to six hours). Rinse the cassettes in water to remove xs stain and process as usual.  This makes embedding easier as well as giving you an idea of the amount of tissue left in the block.  The other nice thing about it is no interfence with H&E,specials and immuno stains.  It's served me well thru the years and locations.  It may need to be tweaked to your liking .  Hope this helps.

>>> "Nymeyer, Heather"  06/25/02 01:03PM >>>
I would like to eliminate the use of mercurochrome in our lab of but has not
been successful in finding a replacement. I have tried various strengths of
eosin but only to have the eosin disappear after processing. Any suggestions
would greatly be appreciated.