Pathology Laboratory Archive at the University and Hospital Trust of Modena/UNIMORE: "Disaster Recovery" frame by frame

The archive of any Pathology laboratory contains thousand of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks and, as a result, serious space and management issues are created. Different authorities (with some variabilty) indicated that 10 years from the diagnosis is a congruous time before the disposal of stored tissues. Therefore, making room is not only a choice, but a necessity. Nowadays specific operating procedures exist, fully managed by human personnel. However, despite guidelines and recommendations, some accidents can occur: such events are often without any consequence but sometimes may cause serious damage for patients. In this paper we report an unwanted event that occurred in our archive in June 2024 during the collection of FFPE blocks from the year 2004 for elimination, which could have had dramatic consequences. We then highlight that innovation and automation of Pathology archives are the key of the custody of patient samples.