Sea turtle histology processing SOW.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

Project Title: Sea Turtle Histology Slide Processing Project Duration: July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 with four (4) option years.

Background and Need

The National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources (NMFS-OPR) includes a Veterinary Medical Officer (VMO) whose official duties include postmortem examination (necropsy) of sea turtles. Necropsy is an essential element of NOAA’s role in monitoring sea turtle populations and contributes to objectives defined in recovery plans under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Specifically, necropsy is used to identify and characterized causes of mortality, investigate unusual stranding phenomena, and detect new or emergent threats to sea turtle populations. In addition, necropsies are often required as part of the investigation of law enforcement cases and various types of takes under the ESA, as well as response to marine disasters, such as documentation of wildlife effects during oil spills.

An important component of many necropsies is histopathological examination whereby tissues collected during necropsy are examined at the microscopic level. To prepare tissues for histopathology, they are first preserved in a formaldehyde solution, placed into special plastic tissue cassettes, processed through a series of additional chemicals, and embedded into a block of paraffin wax. A thin section is cut from the block using a specialized instrument (microtome). The section is then mounted onto a glass slide and stained for visualization under a light microscope.

NMFS-OPR requires services for standard histological processing of sea turtle tissues (submitted in standard tissue cassettes) into paraffin blocks, sectioning and mounting onto labeled glass slides (25 x 75 x 1 mm), staining using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) by routine methods, and application of a coverslip. The laboratory providing this service will receive from the VMO preserved tissues already cut down to appropriate size within labeled tissue cassettes and will return to the VMO each paraffin block and its associated labeled glass slide that has been stained with HE and affixed with a coverslip.

Blocks will be shipped to the laboratory in approximately 10-20 batches per year. Primary decalcification of any mineralized tissues will be completed by the VMO prior to submission. These services require a laboratory that has a demonstrated work history of providing histology slides for examination by veterinary pathologists.

Objectives and Deliverables

• Process a minimum of 700 regular and 50 stat tissue cassettes into paraffin blocks.

• For each block, produce a glass slide that is suitable for diagnostic interpretation including the following standards: approximately 5μm thick sections, HE staining using standard techniques, clear labeling, affixed with a durable coverslip.

• Ship slides and blocks back to the VMO using shipping materials that are appropriate to preserve the blocks (depending on location and season) and prevent breakage of slides.

• Unless approved by the VMO, deliver slides and blocks no later than 12 business days following the day of receipt of tissues. Provide optional rapid return (within 5 business days of receipt) on a limited basis upon request by VMO (to include 50 slides or less per year, no more than 15 slides per individual request).

• Include an option for processing up to an additional 700 regular and 50 stat tissue cassettes into blocks and slides per year.