The University of Pittsburgh
Health Sciences Tissue Bank
HSTB Facilities: UPMC Shadyside; (412) 623-2292; Presbyterain (412) 802-6118;
Magee: (412) 641-8625
Administrative Office: 5230 Centre Ave. 15206
Phone: (412) 623-1042 FAX: (412) 623-2811
Health Sciences Tissue Bank [HSTB] Fee-for Service Policy
The HSTB facility provides research tissue and biological materials, as well as histology
and immunohistochemistry services. The HSTB facility encourages researchers to
communicate with the facility when grant funding is being applied for. This would allow
the researcher and the core facility to communicate and appreciate the extent of the
proposed collaboration. The HSTB hopes to arrive at mutually agreed support levels for
histology, pathology, and tissue and biological specimen collection activities.
In the event that no existing agreements are in place, the HSTB facility also operates on a
fee-for-service mechanism. The details of the fee-for-service mechanism for tissue and
biological specimens, as well as the services provided to the respective tiers of the fee
structure, are provided in the attached document. Please contact the facility for details
pertaining to the histologic services.
Fee-for Service Policy for tissue and biological specimens and annotated data
The charges are in three tiers, based on the level of complexity and difficulty of
procurement and annotation of the tissue samples.
Tier 1: These specimens are residual samples commonly collected from the gross bench
of the surgical pathology suites. This charge tier will also include blood, blood products
and other biological specimens, obtained as excess materials. These samples will be
provided with minimal pathological annotation and accompanying data. The HSTB will
be responsible for de-identifying and anonymizing these specimens. Linkage codes will
be used, when needed. The charge for Tier 1 will be $125 per specimen.
Tier 2: These are the most commonly requested type of specimens. The tissue types in
this tier will consist of the following:
a. Tumor and “Tumor/ Normal adjacent to Tumor” pairs with annotating pathology/
clinical data. The amount of data provided will be limited to data accessible from the
Pathology report;
b. Metastatic tumor foci;
c. Other difficult to collect tissue types that need specific pathology input e.g.
inflammatory lung disease specimens, sarcomas etc
Sample preparation consists of freezing, storing, and downstream retrieval, data
annotation and performing and evaluating frozen sections, stained with H&E. The
samples will have morphologic QA performed at the time of triage to assess different
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tissue components (tumor/ NAT/ stroma etc.). The HSTB is responsible for data entry
pertaining to the samples procured.
The HSTB will also be responsible for de-identifying and anonymizing these specimens.
Linkage codes will be used, when needed.
The charge for Tier 2 will be $250 per specimen.
Tier 3: The specimens in this tier include the following:
a. Normal (donor) specimens: These are the specimens that are obtained as a result of
the collaboration with the Center of Organ Recovery and Education (CORE).
b. Metastatic tissues obtained from the “Warm Autopsy” autopsy program.
c. Blood, blood products and other biological specimens, obtained as part of specialized
collections.
d. Research studies needing tissue specimens, with associated generation of a
customized database. This would include instances where the tissue bank and the cancer
registry/oncology informatics have to team up to provide customized information needed
for a particular research project. Many of these demands will consist of aggregation of
data from medical records, cancer registry and other sources. HSTB will also provide deidentification and anonymization of these specimens. Linkage codes will be used, when
needed.
As part of the routine services provided, the HSTB also performs QA of the tissues being
provided to the investigators.
The charge for Tier 3 will be $500 per specimen.
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