Autopsy Biobanking: Biospecimen Procurement, Integrity, Storage, and Utilization

An autopsy is a specialized surgical procedure consisting of external and internal examination of a deceased individual for the purposes of documenting abnormalities and determining or confirming medical diagnoses that may have contributed to their death. One of the benefits of an autopsy is the opportunity to collect and store biospecimens for the purposes of biobanking. This chapter outlines the procedures necessary to procure, store, and utilize biospecimens obtained during an autopsy. With the emergence of molecular diagnostics, this chapter will also discuss factors that influence the integrity of autopsy biospecimens prior to procurement. These include the postmortem interval, as well as premortem factors such as the patient’s agonal state, biospecimen temperature, and pH.