The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is an integrated Anatomic and Clinical Pathology Laboratory, which provides a broad, diverse level of testing commensurate with the tertiary care mission of the hospital. Click on one of the bookmarks below to go to the relevant section:

Anatomic Pathology (Histology/Cytology)

Assisted Reproductive Therapy

Blood Bank, Transfusion Medicine and Donor Services

Clinical Biochemistry

Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics (Riyadh)

Hematology

Immunopathology

Microbiology

Laboratory Business Office

Anatomic Pathology (Histology/Cytology)      ã

The Anatomic Pathology Section includes Diagnostic Histopathology, Cytology, and Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy. This modern facility fully supports all areas of the hospital, specially the tertiary care activities.  The Department handles biopsies and cytology specimens from inpatient, outpatient and outside referring institutions. These biopsies and specimens cover a wide range of variable diseases although the major part is tumor pathology. This well-equipped laboratory currently employs two consultant pathologists and is supported by experienced technical and clerical staff. The laboratory equipment is comprised of high quality automated instruments including among others automated stainer, automated coverslipper, Ventana automated special stains and Nexus automated immunohistochemistry and the Discovery automated in-situ hybridization instruments. The Immunohistochemistry Section has an extensive range of over 100 antibodies.

Anatomic Pathology

Histology

Cytology

Histology This is the literal study of disease. More specifically, it is a bridging discipline involving both basic science and clinical practice and is devoted to the study of structural and functional changes in cells, tissues and organs that underlie disease. Through the use of molecular, microbiologic, immunologic and morphologic techniques, histology attempts to explain the whys and wherefores of the signs and symptoms manifested by patients while providing a sound foundation for rational clinical care and therapy.

Cytology This involves the processing, screening and diagnosing of gynecological (PAP smears), non-gynecological (body fluids e.g. urines, bronchial specimens, effusions etc.) and fine needle aspirate (FNA’s) specimens for the detection of cancer and other abnormalities. Regular PAP smears (every 1-2 years) have demonstrated a reduction in the incidence of cervical cancer in women around the world. Besides the detection of early cervical cancer, PAP smears are also useful in the diagnosis of infections (parasitic, fungal, viral) and inflammatory conditions. We also attend and assist in FNA’s procedures performed in Radiology (Ultrasound and CT Scan), Outpatient clinics (e.g. Dental, ENT, DPU) and Wards (for inpatients). The Cytology Section performs the following examinations: MALIGNANT CELLS, principally in: cervical-vaginal (PAP) smears, urine, sputum, body fluids, epidermal scrapings, bronchial/esophageal/ gastric brushings, bronchial/esophageal/gastric washings or lavages, and fine needle aspiration EOSINOPHILS, principally in nasal smears, sputum, eye scrapings, and, urine VIRAL INCLUSIONS, principally in cervical-vaginal (PAP) smears, eye scrapings, epidermal scrapings, urine, sputum, bronchial washings, and bronchial lavages HEMOSIDERIN, principally in urine, bronchial washings, and lavages OPPORTUNISTIC ORGANISMS (mainly pneumocystis carinii and aspergillus), principally in sputum, bronchial washings, bronchial lavages, and endoscopic brushings PARASITIC ORGANISMS (mainly Giardia lamblia and Echinococcus cysts), principally in endoscopic specimens and miscellaneous body fluids

Location: First floor, SW corner next to VIP Ward

Contact Information

Extension

Pager

Histology Laboratory

1237/1259

Cytology Laboratory

1501/1262

Cytology Supervisor

1262

3954

Section Head/Anatomic Pathology

1261

2611

Anatomic Pathology Supervisor

1237

3870

Pathologist on-call

Contact Hospital Operator

Pathologist

7573

3886

Senior Section Technologist

1502

3870

Immunohistochemistry

1235

6177

Histology-on-call

3376

Assisted Reproductive Therapy      ã

ART Laboratory is set to give state-of-the-art services to infertility patients. The laboratory performs about 200-400 oocyte retrieval cycles per year.

The lab also performs oocyte collection, processing of semen, testicular tissue or aspirates to get spermatozoa for intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, assessment of fertilization and embryo development in culture, micromanipulation of oocytes and spermatozoa, embryo transfer, semen analysis, seminal plasma fructose testing, vital staining and pregnancy testing.

If you are planning to come to our unit, the following information will be helpful to you: If a test is required, please follow our easy guide below for laboratory test requests (example: semen analysis) and day procedures (example: Intra-Uterine Insemination IUI):

Cash Patients 4      Once you have the test request, proceed to the Lab Reception. 4      Submit your request. 4      Pay. 4      Go back to the ART unit with your payment receipt. 4      Submit your request form and your receipt to the ART unit reception (MAP II). 4      Wait in the designated waiting area until your name is called. 4      You’ll be instructed whether to proceed with your specimen collection or you will be instructed about future specimen collection. Credit Patients 4      Once you have the test request, proceed to the Lab Reception. 4      Submit your request. 4      Once you have the test request, proceed to the ART unit reception (MAP II) 4      Submit your request. 4      Wait in the designated waiting area until your name is called. 4      You’ll be instructed whether to proceed with your specimen collection or you will be instructed about future specimen collection. Insurance Company Members Once you have the test request, proceed to the Insurance Company Approval Desk.  Submit your request for approval. 1.       If your request was approved by the Insurance Company Approval Desk 4      Proceed to the ART unit reception (MAP II). 4      Submit your request. 4      Wait in the designated waiting area until your name is called. 4      You’ll be instructed whether to proceed with your specimen collection or you will be instructed about future specimen collection. 2.       If your request was not approved by the Insurance Company Approval Desk, or if it was partially approved: 4      Proceed to the Lab Reception. 4      Submit your request. 4      Pay. 4      Go back to the ART unit. 4      Submit your request form and your receipt to the ART unit reception (MAP II). 4      Wait in the designated waiting area until your name is called. 4      You’ll be instructed whether to proceed with your specimen collection or you will be instructed about future specimen collection.

Do you need a Report of Your Results? Choose one of the following locations to obtain a report on your test results: 4      Cash Patients:                              Lab Reception 4      Credit Patients:                            Medical Records 4      Insurance Company Members:    Medical Records

Contact Information

Hours

Extension

Pager

Saturday-Tuesday

08:00am – 05:00pm

1424

Wednesday

08:00am – 04:30pm

1424

Thursday-Friday

Closed

1424

IVF Clinic

1424

ART Supervisor

1427/1432

2878

Blood Bank, Transfusion Medicine and Donor Services      ã

Are you planning on coming to the Donation Center?  If so, here is some information you will need:

How to donate blood

4      You have to be 17 years old or more. 4      You have to be healthy. 4      You have to have enough sleep and have a good meal before you come to donate. 4      You must weigh more than 50 Kg. 4      You must bring your ID (National ID for Saudis & Iqama for non-Saudis).

Once you arrive at our door you will be:   4      registered. 4      given a questionnaire to fill that contains general and medical information about you. 4      physically examined (Blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and hemoglobin level). You will then move to the donation area, where about half a liter of blood will be drawn from you. Note: The process of donation takes about 20 minutes

How often can blood be donated? This can be done safely every two months, five times a year.

Laboratory tests performed on donated blood

4      HIV I & II 4      Hepatitis B & C 4      Syphilis 4      HTLV 4      Blood Group

Location:       Core Laboratory/ Ground Floor

Hours of Operation

Days

Hours

Transfusion Medicine

7 days per week

24 hours per day

Donor Services

Saturday – Tuesday

0900 – 1800

Wednesday

0900 – 1730

Thursday – Friday

Closed

Contact Numbers

Extension

Pager

Head of Section

7584

2850

Supervisor, Donor Services

7792

3776

Supervisor, Transfusion Services

7463

3885

Donor Center Registration

7799/7789

Clinical Biochemistry      ã

The Clinical Biochemistry Section offers full services which include: Routine Chemistry, Endocrinology, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, and Special Chemistry.

This section employs modern automated, computerized instrumentation for routine chemistry measurements, immunoassays and some special chemistry tests.

In this section, chemical and biochemical methods are applied to the study of disease. It is mainly confined to studies on blood (serum, plasma or whole blood) and urine because of the relative ease in obtaining such specimens. Analyses are also made on other body fluids such as gastric aspirates and cerebrospinal fluids. Clinical biochemical tests comprise over one-third of all hospital laboratory investigations.

Biochemical investigations are involved, to varying degrees, in every branch of clinical medicine. The results of biochemical tests may be of use in diagnosis and in the monitoring of treatment. Biochemical tests may also be of value in screening for disease or in assessing the prognosis once a diagnosis has been made. The Biochemistry Laboratory can also be involved in research and clinical trails. Most biochemistry laboratories provide core biochemical tests, which include glucose, urea and electrolytes, liver function tests and much more. Specialized tests which include hormones, drugs, and many more are also available High volume routine chemistries are performed on the Hitachi 917; most immunoassays (including hormones and tumor markers) are performed on a Roche Elecsys 2010, while therapeutic drug monitoring principally on the Abbott Axsym and TDx instruments. Special procedures include serum protein separation by capillary zone electrophoresis (Beckman CZE) and specific proteins by automated nephelometry (Behring BNII).

Location Core Laboratory, Ground Floor

Hours of Operation

24 hours per day, 7 days per week.  For outpatients, hours of operation are the same as the hours of operation for Patient Services.

Contact Numbers

Extension

Pager

Automated Chemistry

7563/7613

Special Chemistry

6075

Chemistry Supervisor

7615

2239

Point of Care Coordinator

1244

3873

Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics (Riyadh)      ã

The Cytogenetics Laboratory offers chromosome analysis on peripheral blood, bone marrow, amniotic fluid, chorionic villi, and solid tumors.  These are performed on short or long term cultures.  Also available are giemsa banding techniques, chromosome breakage analysis for Fanconi anemia and Ataxia Telangiectasia, and Fragile X chromosome analysis. Specimens received before 1500 hours are forwarded Saturday through Wednesday to Riyadh in the normal daily specimen shipment. Because tests performed in this section are very time consuming and labor-intensive, a specific turn-around time cannot be guaranteed.

Hours of Operation: Saturday – Wednesday:  0800 – 1500 hours Specimens to be sent to Riyadh require scheduling by calling  ext. 7577 or 7560

Hematology      ã

The Hematology Lab is the facility in the hospital concerned with routine testing of blood and body fluid samples towards the diagnosis of any ptatological disorders such as anemia and leukemia. This section of the laboratory provides full service including routine and special hematology. Tests include automated hematology, routine coagulation, reticulocyte counts, G-6-PD screens, sickle cell screens, ptatological analysis of body fluids, variant hemoglobin identification, and hematomorphology. After consultation with the Section Pathologist and attending physician appropriate cases are referred to Flow Cytometry, Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, Electron Microscopy (Riyadh), and Cytogenetics (Riyadh),. The lab is operational 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week to insure the timely resulting of any emergency or urgent samples. The Hematology Lab has participated and has been accredited by CAP®.

The Hematology Laboratory is operated by a qualified team of technologists from all around the world. The staff is well trained in various laboratory techniques and skills, to ensure optimal lab results in a timely fashion.

Tests Sample testing can be categorized as follows. 4      Automation Automation is the area concerned with the cellular measurements of blood. Here complete blood counts (CBC) and reticulocyte counts are performed. 4      Coagulation The coagulation area is where the clotting properties of blood are measured. Routine tests such as prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thrombin time (pt), fibrinogen and D-dimer are performed in large quantities on a daily basis. 4      Manual Manual testing includes anything that is not performed on an instrument but rather done using manual techniques such as erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR), sickle cell testing and qualitative G6PD screening. 4       Microscopy Certain cases cannot be properly diagnosed without visually checking the sample under a microscope. Blood films are routinely prepared for suspicious cases and checked microscopically for any morphological abnormality or blood parasite. Any obscure or overly abnormal blood films are double checked by a hematopathologist. 4      Hemoglobinopathy screening Certain hemoglobin disorders such as thalassemia and sickle cell anemia are detected using a technique called high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The same technique is used for premarital screening (MAP I) tests that are performed routinely in the lab. 4      Body fluid testing Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and various body fluids are routinely processed in the hematology lab. Manual cell counts and white blood cell (WBC) differentials are performed and double checked by a hematopathologist..

Instruments Instruments in the Hematology Lab follow the same classification as tests. 4      Automation Automated testing is achieved using 2 Celldyn 3700 cell-counting machines. These machines are used to perform CBCs and five-part automated WBC differentials. 4      Coagulation PTs, aPTTs, fibrinogen and D-dimer measurements are performed using the Behring Coagulation System (BCS). A Behring Coagulation Timer (BCT) is the secondary coagulation machine preserved as a backup in case of any malfunctions in the BCS. A tertiary machine called the ST-art 4 is used as a backup in cases where optical measurement of the sample is difficult such as hemolyzed or icteric samples. 4      HPLC Hemoglobinopathies and premarital testing are done on a system called the BioradII. This machine uses HPLC to determine the various types of hemoglobin in any given sample.

Hours of Operation 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.  For outpatients, hours of operation are the same as the hours of operation for Patient Services.

Location Core Laboratory, Ground Floor Contact Numbers

Area

Extension

Pager

Automated Hematology

7513/7518

Coagulation

7519

Consultant Hematologist

3871

Supervisor

7522

3159

Immunopathology      ã

Flow-Cytometry /Bone Marrow Transplantation Lab The following flowing sample procedures for immuno-phenotyping, hematological malignances and lympho-prolifrative disorders are performed:

4      Bone Marrow Aspirates 4      Peripheral blood sample 4      Tissue, masses or lymph nodes extract 4      Lymphocyte subsets quantification on blood samples for patient suffering either congenital or acquired immune deficiency 4      Stem Cell Quantitation:  Flow cytometric enumeration of Stem cells per kilogram of recipient body weight has been shown to be the most useful indicator o f the haematopoietic reconstitutive capacity of peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplants.  As flow cytometry can produce results within an hour, serial assessments of Stem cell concentrations in peripheral blood also enables the optimal timing of the apheresis sessions, ensuring the harvest of sufficient numbers of Stem cells.

4      PNH Screening: Enumeration of residual leucocytes in blood products 4      Cryo-preservation of stem cell harvests for cases scheduled for stem cell transplant.

Immunology/Serology The Immunoserology section at KFSH&RC-Jeddah utilizes fully automated procedures with state-of-the-art equipment. We test all blood donation products for viral disease markers according to guidelines from the American Association of Blood Banks and the College of American Pathologists. Autoimmune diseases, allergies and infectious diseases are screened, diagnosed, and monitored through serological testing. Most tests are run routinely either daily or weekly. We are implementing highly efficient quality assurance and quality improvement programs to improve our services and to ensure quality services for patient care. No result will be released without confirmation of its reliability and reproducibilit y. A highly qualified pathologist leads the section and it is run by experienced medical technologists.

Donor Blood Testing Testing of viral markers is performed as per American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), College of American Pathologists (CAP), and exceed the Ministry of Health requirements.

Patient Disease Testing These include testing for immune status and specialty testing such as: 4      HCV typing.  KFSH&RC is the only testing site in the Middle East 4     HIV, HCV, and HTLV confirmatory testing

Autoimmune Testing 4     Antinuclear Antibodies

Location Core Laboratory, Ground Floor

Hours

Extension

Pager

Saturday-Tuesday

8 a.m.  – 5.00 p.m.

7599

Wednesday

8am – 4:30pm

7599

Thursday/Friday

Closed

7599

Supervisor

7599

2453

Routine Immunology

7599

Microbiology      ã

Microbiology is a state-of-the-art laboratory maintaining three areas: Mycobacteriology and Mycology, Bacteriology, and Urine and Stool examination.

New molecular techniques are being introduced for direct specimen analysis for mycobacteria tuberculosis and other infectious agents

Location Ground Floor, Core Laboratory

Hours of Operation

Saturday – Wednesday

0800 – 1930 hours

Thursday & Friday

0800 – 1700 hours (Inpatients Only)

Contact Numbers

Extension

Pager

Supervisor

7565

3319

Routine Microbiology

7565

Urinalysis

7565

TB/Mycology

7561

Laboratory Business Office      ã

This office was established at the end of 2003 with the main purpose of providing complete laboratory information and introducing services to other institutions. The laboratory marketing process was also prepared and followed by this section. Although our business has just started, we look forward to being the best in offering a high quality standard level of laboratory service to the medical field and to the community. Laboratory Business Opportunity Many laboratories are unable to perform all the investigations KFSH&RC-Jeddah is equipped to manage; therefore, we are willing to offer such services to others.  Our laboratory is CAP (College of American Pathologists) and AABB (American Association of Blood Banks) accredited. Goal The goal of our laboratory is to provide a high standard of laboratory investigations to the community. Laboratory Business Coordinator The office of Mr. Essam Haj Ahmed, Laboratory Business Coordinator, is located in the main laboratory. The main job of the coordinator is to arrange and to communicate all lab issues related to business such as test prices, lab information, sample collections, hospitals, laboratories, clinics and doctor contacts. In addition, he coordinates with all Hospital departments regarding business issues.

Contact Numbers

Extension

Pager

Laboratory Business Office

7581/7572

2268

Business Days

Hours

Saturday – Tuesday

0800 – 1700 hours

Wednesday

0800 – 1630 hours

Thursday - Mobile Phone Only

0503821844