Usually the tissue samples I receive have been optimally fixed (time-wise)
in formalin and promptly embedded into paraffin.  Today I received a call
from a researcher out of state who wants to send me some samples, but cannot
get his fixed tissue processed into paraffin within a 24-hour period after
start of fixation.  He wants to know what storage alcohol he should switch
the samples into until embedding, and I became brain-dead.  Can someone help
me out here PDQ?  Is it 70% ethanol or some other percentage?  Is there a
better storage medium than ethanol?  I have received some cases in PBS
(post-formalin-fixation), but those staining results were less than optimal.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jan Shivers
Univ. of Minn. Vet. Diag. Lab