The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine consists of the Sections of Anatomic Pathology, Blood Bank, Chemistry, Cytogenetics, Hematology, Microbiology and Virology. Diagnostic procedures are available on both a routine and stat basis. Specimen referrals are accepted by all sections.

Each section is staffed by medical technicians/technologists who are under the direction of MDs or PhDs. Advanced methodologies are employed to promote the provision of meaningful clinical data in a timely fashion. The laboratories are certified by The College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The Section of Anatomic Pathology offers comprehensive surgical pathology and autopsy services in Pediatric Anatomic Pathology. Advanced diagnostic technologies, including immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy, are available. The Department regularly handles highly specialized specimens, such as kidney biopsies, muscle and nerve biopsies, GI mucosal biopsies, liver biopsies, skin and blood buffy coat EM for storage disorders, EM study of respiratory cilia, organ transplantation follow-up biopsies (kidney, liver, heart), pediatric tumors and electron microscopy in general.

Anatomic Pathology conducts ongoing research and teaching activities, including an ACGME-approved fellowship training program in pediatric pathology.

Blood Bank and Transfusion Service: It offers full blood typing, cross-matching and antibody identification and provides special blood product support for transfusions in transplant cases and in pediatric neonatal and transfusion medicine. Irradiation of products is provided on request. The blood bank was one of the first to reduce neonatal donor exposure by dedicating units of red blood cells. The section handles all blood components and coagulation factors. In addition sickle cell anemia patients are phenotyped and provided with matched units to reduce alloinmmunization.

Sickle Cell Anemia - Blood Donor Program

St. Christopher's Hospital for Children is now part of the American Red Cross Cooperative Sickle Cell Program.

The American Red Cross founded this program four years ago with The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to provide the best-matched transfusions for children with sickle cell disease. The Red Cross has been successful in increasing the number of program units collected and transfused each month through a dedicated team of Red Cross and Children's Hospital staff, and parents of children with sickle cell disease, who actively recruit blood donors in the African American community for the program.

Cooperative Sickle Cell Donor Program tags are available at any American Red Cross blood drive facility whereby African American donors can designate their blood to be given to help patients with sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder that affects red blood cells. People with sickle cell disease have red blood cells that become hard and pointed instead of soft and round. Sickle cells cause anemia, pain and many other problems.

Clinical Chemistry is a 24 hour operation for routine and Stat test procedures in general chemistry. Special procedures in radioimmunoassay and immunoassay are offered for the esoteric testing needs such as FK 506 and cyclosporine testing for transplant patients and specific protein analysis for immunologic disorders and nutritional assessments. Tests for inborn errors of metabolism are performed on SCHC patients, those referred by outside pediatricians, and for the State's newborn screening program.

The Cytogenetics Laboratory, one of the oldest in the U.S., offers a full range of tests. Karyotyping and/or fluorescence in situ hydridization studies are performed on peripheral blood, skin, bone marrow, solid tumors, aminocytes, and chronic villi in a state-of-the-art laboratory. Rapid diagnosis of newborn infants or other critical cases is provided.

The laboratory director, Hope Punnett, Ph.D. is available for consultation and discussion of results. Final reports include the cytogenetic diagnosis, references when appropriate, and a karyotype of each cell line in the culture.

Hematology and Coagulation operate 24 hours per day and perform a full range of STAT and routine hematology and coagulation studies including Factor assays and Hemoglobin electrophoresis.

Microbiology is a full service laboratory providing bacteriology, mycology, parasitology and mycobacteriology.

The Clinical Virology Laboratory offers a full range of diagnostic services including isolation and identification of viral pathogens using cell culture techniques, rapid and direct detection of viral antigens in clinical materials such as respiratory secretions, skin lesions, and genital lesions, and serologic testing for may commonly-encountered viral agents. The laboratory also services a variety of special patient populations including, but not limited to, patients with cystic fibrosis, patients who have received solid organ transplants, and patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

For more information, please call:

Laboratory Administration: Kathleen Stapleton, M.S., MT (ASCP)
Director of Administrative and Technical Services (215) 427-5306

Anatomical Pathology: (215) 427-5272
Central Processing: (215) 427-5550
Chemistry: (215) 427-5302 or (215) 427-5254
Cytogenetics: (215) 427-5289 or (215)427-5290
Hematology: (215) 427-5260
Transfusion Medicine and Blood Bank: (215) 427-5267 or (215) 427-5945
Microbiology: (215) 427-5946 or (215) 427-5246
Virology: (215) 427-5298 (Director) or (215) 427-5296 (Laboratory)

FACULTY:

Jean-Pierre de Chadarevian, MD, FRCPC
Director, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Professor of Pathology and Pediatrics
Special Interests: Electron microscopy, nephropathology, muscle pathology, brain tumors

Adamadia Deforest, PhD
Director, Clinical Virology Laboratory
Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Special Interests: Pediatric virology, laboratory diagnosis of viral infections, host responses to viral infections and immunizations

Christos D. Katsetos, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Neuropathologist
Special Interests: Nervous system neoplasia, Class III beta tubulin, pediatric HIV in the CNS

Cathy Litty, MD
Director, Transfusion Medicine and Blood Bank
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Special Interests: Pediatric transfusion medicine, leukoreduction in children and neonates, alternatives to autologous donations.

Judy Mae C. Pascasio, MD
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Pediatrics
Pediatric Pathologist
Director, Clinical Chemistry
Special Interests: Pediatric pathology and soft tissue tumors; evaluation and implementation of new laboratory methods

Hope H. Punnett, PhD
Chief, Cytogenetics Laboratory Section
Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Special Interests: Clinical cytogenetics, molecular cytogenetics, chromosomes abnormalities in malignancies, genetics of mitochondrial disorders; role of genetic imprinting in congenital abnormalities; contiguous gene syndrome.

Frank E. Shafer, M.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Director, Hematology Laboratory Section
Director, General Hematology, Thalassemia and
Hemophilia Clinical Program
Special Interests: Sickle cell disease, thalassemia,
Laboratory analysis and newborn screening of
Hemoglobinopathies, general pediatric hematology
(thrombocytopenia, anemia, neutropenia, bleeding disorders)