Standard PREanalytical Code (SPREC) V2.0

The ISBER Biospecimen Science Working Group has developed SPREC that identifies and records the main preanalytical factors that may impact on the integrity of sampled clinical fluids and solid biospecimens and their simple derivatives, during collection, processing and storage.

SPREC comprises 7 elements for both fluid and solid samples, defining the sample and primary container type, periods of cold and warm ischemia, and subsequent handling steps including speed and temperature of centrifugation, and final storage temperature.

The ability to manage and track preanalytical variations impacting on biospecimen integrity is fundamental to the provision of high quality tissue samples for research, and the effective and efficient interconnectivity and interoperability between national and international Biobanks.

The SPRECalc tool supplied in form of two Excel Files (SPRECalc SOLID_V1.0 for solid samples and SPRECalc FLUID_V1.0 for fluid samples) provide support for automatic SPREC generation, while entering relevant data for each sample. The file SPRECalc Release Notes_V1.0 describes the technical requirements for the implementation of the tools, their description and the rules for data entry to ensure proper calculation of the codes.

It is highly recommended to read the Release Notes before investigating or implementing the SPRECalc tools.

Resources:

Biopreservation and Biobanking, in press
Standard Preanalytical Coding for Biospecimens: Review and implementation of the Sample PREanalytical Code

Authors: International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) Working Group on Biospecimen Science