Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure tissue stabilisers do not reduce the need for equitable access to tissue freezing across the NHS.

NHS England has produced national sample handling guidance, including for whole genome sequencing (WGS) of solid tumours, to standardise the collection, processing, and transport of tumour samples, helping to maintain DNA quality and support access to precision diagnostics. As part of the guidance, approaches to the handling of fresh tissue have been reviewed, including the use of tissue stabilisers as an alternative to fresh frozen tissue.

The Department has not undertaken a specific, separate assessment of whether reliance on tissue stabilisers could limit access to precision diagnostics, WGS, clinical trials, or research. However, the guidance indicates that the use of tissue stabilisers is intended to support, rather than limit, access to genomic testing, including WGS, by enabling more consistent sample handling pathways across the National Health Service. The aim is to reduce some of the barriers of having to acquire, freeze, and transport the frozen tissue, helping to speed up processes and improve consistency.

NHS England is taking steps to address the variation in access to freezer capacity and fresh frozen tissue pathways across the NHS. NHS England is currently working with the British Neuro-Oncology Society to map where freezer storage facilities for fresh frozen tissue are required. Work is also ongoing across genomics, cancer, and pathology programmes to optimise fresh tissue pathways, including mapping infrastructure requirements and developing the supporting evidence base.

This work aims to reduce variation in local infrastructure and support more equitable access to both fresh frozen tissue pathways and genomic testing across England.