Storing diagnostic reagents and lab kits: refrigeration good practice

Start with the kit insert

Every kit and reagent comes with storage conditions in its instructions for use. Before buying cold storage, list your reagents by required band and by volume at peak stock — after a bulk order or before a holiday shutdown. You'll usually find three groups: refrigerated (+2 to +8 °C), frozen (often −20 °C class, sometimes colder) and room-temperature items that may be harmed by refrigeration.

Note anything that is light-sensitive or must be kept upright, and anything that must be used within a set time after opening, so the cabinet layout can support it.

Keep reagents apart from samples and food

Patient samples, blood units and reagents should not share a refrigerator. India's National Standards for Blood Centres, for example, say refrigerators used for blood and components should hold only blood, components and samples, with reagents in separate refrigerators. The same logic applies in any lab: separation prevents contamination, mix-ups and unnecessary door openings.

Food and drinks never belong in any laboratory refrigerator.

Layout inside the cabinet

• Use labelled bins by test or analyser so staff pick quickly with the door open briefly.
• Keep open-in-use reagents in a clearly marked zone, with opening dates written on them.
• Avoid door shelves for reagents; they warm most with each opening.
• Keep packs off the back wall and away from the air outlet, where some cabinets run colder.
• Put earliest expiry in front, and new deliveries behind.
• Leave space for air to circulate; a solidly packed fridge has warm pockets.

Receiving reagent deliveries

Reagents often arrive in insulated shippers with coolant packs, and a box left in reception over lunch can undo careful storage. Make cold deliveries a priority: open the shipper on arrival, check any temperature indicator, look at whether the coolant packs are still frozen or have fully melted, and move the contents into the right cabinet at once.

Record the delivery time, condition and any indicator reading against the batch. If something looks wrong, quarantine the stock in correct storage and contact the supplier before use. A shipment that arrives warm on a Friday evening is much easier to resolve if someone has checked it before the weekend.

Choosing the equipment

Monitoring and records

Treat a reagent refrigerator like any other controlled storage: an independent, calibrated logger with high and low alarms, daily review of readings and records kept as your quality system requires. Laboratory accreditation assessors commonly ask to see temperature records for reagent storage, so keep them with the equipment's maintenance and calibration history.

If a reagent fridge goes out of range, quarantine affected stock, check the kit's instructions and contact the manufacturer before use. Running quality controls is useful evidence but not a substitute for the manufacturer's advice.

Heat and power in Indian labs

Analysers, incubators and centrifuges all add heat to a lab, and many smaller labs switch off air-conditioning at night. Check each refrigerator's rated ambient, keep condensers clean and leave clearances. Protect compressors from voltage swings, and make sure alarms have battery backup so a night-time power cut is noticed before the morning run.