A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO TRANSPORTING BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES

The primary goal of temperature control logistics is to keep certain products or materials within a specific temperature range during transport – this is all the more critical with biological samples. When handling biological samples, there are special considerations to take into account since the end-users aim to keep them in optimal function and viability for testing and research purposes. Biological samples, or biologics, cover a wide range of products used in medical research and treatment. In this article, we will focus on blood products, biological fluids and tissues, and diagnostic specimens. These biologics are often transported by medical personnel from one facility to another for purposes of analysis, processing, or transfusion. Getting biologics from one location to another can be challenging since they are usually sensitive to heat and susceptible to microbial contamination; as such they require special handling and need to be stored and transported under controlled conditions. Read on to learn the overview of the principles for the efficient handling of biological samples.