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FULL AUTOMATION FOR MOLECULAR TYPING PROVIDES SIGNIFICANT LABOR SAVINGS AND PROCESS EFFICIENCIES FOR THE SMALL TO MEDIUM SIZE HLA LABORATORY.
L.D. Roberts 1 and R.H. Kerman 1. 1 Histocompatibility Laboratory, Saint Francis Hospital, Tulsa, OK, USA .
Traditional SSO methodology for HLA typing can be labor-intensive and fraught with technical variability. In the small to medium size HLA laboratory demands for rapid turn-around of typing results must be balanced with technical ability and capacity. Using QuickStep
Automated Robotic Platform (Biotest) provides consistent results for HLA-A,B,C,DR and DQ alleles for solid organ and blood/marrow transplant while alleviating technologist hands-on time. Four hours of hands-on time post amplification is reduced to 10 minutes by automating the SSO assay with QuickStep. Staging of the instrument is easy and progress is viewable during use. The user-friendly setup of the assays allows barcoding for samples and reagents, preventing errors. Pipetting, incubation, washes and data acquisition are accomplished by robotics and plate transport resulting in a seamless flow from amplicon to the end result. Instrument maintenance consists of purging the washer and wiping aspirator needles weekly, emptying waste and refilling system fluid; all tasks are easily accomplished with minimal hands-on time. With Biotest HLA Typing Software, directly importing raw data is simple and effective allowing for quick interpretation and reporting. The flexibility of the system allows the small to medium size lab to customize workflow to meet the variability of sample volumes. Each assay can be tested and analyzed in batch or individually based on the needs of the lab. The user can test up to seven full 96-well trays in one run. The efficiency gained with the automation is directly proportional to the labor savings of one FTE, thus allowing the small to medium size lab to perform molecular based testing without compromising other lab functions.