Using the App

Sample Transport Simulator

Premium tool. Open directly at /sample-transport-simulator. The simulator has its own page; it is not currently listed on the /training-dashboard hub.

Sample transport is a small but high-risk part of the pre-analytical phase. Get it wrong and samples arrive degraded, unidentifiable, or unsafe. This simulator drills the rules.

What it does

• Presents scenarios across road, air (where permitted), and pneumatic-tube transport
• Asks you to select the correct UN3373 packaging
• Tests time-critical sample routing (e.g. transfusion samples, blood cultures, biopsies)
• Drills temperature control (room temp, 2-8°C, frozen, dry-ice)
• Walks you through courier handover documentation and chain-of-custody
• Tests what to do when transport fails (delayed courier, fridge failure mid-transit)

UN3373 essentials

UN3373 Biological Substance, Category B is the classification for the vast majority of clinical samples (most patient diagnostic samples are Category B).

Category A (UN2814 / UN2900) applies only to substances capable of causing permanent disability or life-threatening disease in healthy humans — much rarer in routine pathology.

Category B packaging (UN3373)

Triple-packaging is mandatory:

1. Primary — leak-proof receptacle holding the sample
2. Secondary — leak-proof outer container with absorbent material
3. Outer — rigid outer package with the UN3373 diamond label and shipping declaration

For temperature-controlled transport, add an insulated container with gel packs / dry ice.

Time-critical samples covered

• Blood gas — heparinised, on ice, ≤30 min
• Lactate — fluoride or rapid analysis ≤15 min if not preserved
• Blood cultures — at body temperature, ≤4 h to bench
• Coagulation samples — citrate, ambient, ≤4 h (≤2 h for some assays)
• Cold-agglutinin tests — warm transport
• CSF — direct, urgent, no transport delay
• Histology biopsies in fresh state — straight to the lab, no fixative
• Transfusion crossmatch samples — strict identification chain throughout transit

Pneumatic-tube transport

Many trusts use pneumatic tubes for fast intra-hospital transport. The simulator covers when this is not safe:

• Cell-fragility issues (blood gas, coagulation factor activity)
• Samples with risk of haemolysis
• Samples with potassium drift sensitivity
• Cytology samples (cellular damage)
• Histology biopsies

Standards alignment

• ADR (European Agreement on International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road) — current UK incorporation
• IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations — for air transport
• WHO Guidance on Regulations for the Transport of Infectious Substances — current
• HSE carriage regulations
• ISO 15189:2022 clause 7.2.4 (pre-examination)

Bands and competency mapping

• Band 2-4 — receive samples and identify packaging defects
• Band 5 — escalate transport failures; train couriers; support new-site setup
• Band 6 / 7 — service-wide transport governance; audit; root-cause repeated transport issues