Summary of the recommended retention policies for different material within the pathology laboratories proposed by national and international pathology colleges/societies and national/local governance authority
| Authority | FFPE blocks | Histological slides | Gynaecological cytology slides | Non-gynaecological cytology slides | WSI |
| CAP (USA)31 | 10y | 10y | 5y | 10y | 10y |
| RCPath (UK)32 | 30y* | 15y† | 10y | 10y | 8y |
| SIAPEC/MoH (IT)9 | 10y | 10y | 10y | 10y | 10y |
| Lombardy Region governance (IT)33 | 50y | 50y | 10y | 50y‡ | 30y§ |
*If no facilities, 10 years, retaining most relevant blocks permanently.
†If from children, until they reach the age of 25.
‡If representing the only pathological sample available, otherwise 5 years.
§From the elimination of the corresponding glass slide.
FFPE, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded; WSI, whole slide images; y, years; CAP, College of American Pathologists; RCPath, The Royal College of Pathologists; SIAPEC, Società Italiana di Anatomia Patologica e Citologia Diagnositca; Ministry of Health.