Specimens — §5.2
| Whole blood & urine | ≥ 24 hours |
| Serum, plasma, CSF & other body fluids | ≥ 48 hours |
| Permanently fixed & stained blood films | ≥ 7 days |
| Outpatient specimens | ≥ 24 hours |
| Inpatient specimens | ≥ 72 hours |
| Reactive Dengue / Hepatitis B specimens — monitored refrigeration or freezing (LAB-QM-POST-002 §5.8.4) | ≥ 6 months |
While stored (§5.3): each shift's tubes go upright in a biohazard zip-lock bag in the designated refrigerator, the bag labeled with date, day and shift received. Temperature monitored per LAB-QM-ANA-005.
Disposal (§5.4): discard only after the period above elapses — as pathological (biohazard) waste, per LAB-QM-IC-001 §5.4.
Flag — overlap: the specimen-type periods and the outpatient/inpatient periods can both apply to one specimen (e.g. inpatient serum: 48 h and 72 h). The policy does not state which prevails — when in doubt, ask the CMT/LQM before discarding.
Records — §5.6
| Laboratory test results (instrument printouts, worksheets, result records) | 5 years |
| Issued test reports (original and corrected / amended) | 2 years |
| Test requests / requisitions | 2 years |
| Accession registries & logbooks | 10 years |
| Quality control (QC) records | 2 years |
| PT (NEQAS) records & quality system assessment records | 5 years |
| Specimen rejection records | 1 year |
| Maintenance records | 2 yrs after equipment unserviceable |
| Competency & training records (incl. employee ID records) | 3 yrs after last day of employment |
| Waste disposal records | 2 years |
| Audit & inspection records · management review records | 5 years · 2 years |
| Retired controlled documents | 2 yrs after supersession |
| Method / instrument validation records | Life of use + 2 yrs |
Storage (§5.7): records storage area, protected from heat, water, fire and damage. Access limited to authorized staff.
Schedule: DOH Department Circular No. 2021-0226, applied in LAB-QM-POST-004 §5.6. Results filed in the patient chart follow chart retention: in-patient 10 years after discharge; out-patient 7 years after last consultation.
