How to record where a sample is stored

Sample storage is recorded by the testing lab, on installs whose request form includes sample storage. Other request forms do not show the Samples Storage button.

A recorded freezer position lets anyone find the physical tube later, without opening every box. This matters most for samples kept for retesting, for confirmatory work, or for a quality review.

Before starting

• Samples registered in InteLIS
• The freezer, rack, box and position where each tube goes
• Permission to view test requests
• The freezer set up under ADMIN → Settings → Lab Storage. If it is missing, ask the administrator to add it.

Record a position

Choose how the tubes go in, then follow its steps from top to bottom.

Record the position when the tube goes into the freezer. A position written down later, from memory, is where the tube was meant to go, not always where it is.

One sample at a timeA whole box

1. Go to HIV VIRAL LOAD → Request Management → View Test Requests.
2. Select Samples Storage at the top right of the list.
3. Choose the lab in Nom du laboratoire. This label shows in French in every language.
4. Filter to the samples being stored, using Sample Collection Date, Sample Received at Lab Date or Facility Name.

5. Select Get Samples.

   If a sample is missing from the list

   The Sample Collection Date starts at the last 28 days. Widen it for older samples, then select Get Samples again. Cancelled samples are never listed.

6. On each sample's row, fill in the storage details:

   Field	What to enter
   Volume(ml)	The volume stored. Required, and greater than zero
   Lab	The lab that holds the freezer. Required
   Freezer	The freezer. Required
   Rack	The rack inside the freezer. Required
   Box	The box inside the rack. Required
   Position	The position inside the box. Required
   Comments	Anything needed to find or interpret the sample. Optional

   A row with a required field missing is not saved

   InteLIS skips that row without saying so. The page still shows Sample added to the freezer successfully, and the tube has no recorded position. Step 9 catches this.

7. Leave Date out empty. It does not record a sample leaving storage.

8. Select Save. InteLIS shows Sample added to the freezer successfully.

9. Check each sample:

   1. Go to HIV VIRAL LOAD → Management → Freezer/Storage Reports.
   2. Select the Sample Storage History tab.
   3. Choose the Testing Lab, enter the Sample ID, and select Search.
   4. The row shows the freezer, Rack, Box and Position entered in step 6, with the status Added.
   The Current Storage column stays empty

   On the Samples Storage page, Current Storage does not show the recorded position in the current version. Check positions in Freezer/Storage Reports instead.

These positions go onto the request form, not into the storage records

The upload fills the Freezer, Rack, Box, Position and Volume (ml) fields on each sample's request form. It does not add the samples to Freezer/Storage Reports.

1. Go to HIV VIRAL LOAD → Request Management → View Test Requests.
2. Select Samples Storage at the top right of the list.
3. Select Storage Bulk Upload.
4. Enter the batch code or manifest code of the box in Batch Code (or) Manifest Code.
5. Select Download Excel Format. The sheet downloads with the Sample IDs and patient IDs of that batch or manifest already filled in.

6. Fill in the sheet. Keep its columns as they are:

   Column	What to enter
   Sample Code	Filled in already. Required
   Patient ID	Filled in already
   Location/Freezer Code	The freezer code, exactly as set up under Lab Storage. Required
   Rack	Required
   Box	Required
   Position	Required
   Volume (ml)	Required

   If the freezer code is mistyped

   A code that does not match an existing freezer creates a new freezer with that code. Check the codes before uploading.

7. Select Upload File and choose the completed sheet.

8. Select Submit. InteLIS shows the Total number of records in file, the Number of Lab Storage added and the Number of Storages not added.

   If some rows were not added

   A sample that already has a position on its request form is not changed. InteLIS lists the rows it could not add and offers them as a spreadsheet to download.

9. Check a few samples before returning the box to the freezer. In View Test Requests, search for the sample and select Edit. The Freezer, Rack, Box, Position and Volume (ml) fields show the uploaded values.

Record a sample leaving storage

Removal cannot be recorded in the current version

The Remove button on the Samples Storage page does not appear, so a sample cannot be marked as removed. Setting Date out and saving does not remove it either: it adds another storage record and leaves the tube shown as present. Report removals to the administrator until this is fixed.

Steps once the Remove button shows again

1. On the Samples Storage page, select Get Samples to list the sample.
2. Select Remove on its row.
3. Choose the reason from the list that appears. InteLIS removes the sample at once, with no confirmation, and shows Sample is removed from this freezer.

Choosing Other records the reason as other. Choose a listed reason where one fits. The storage history keeps where the tube was and when it left.

Find a stored sample

1. Go to HIV VIRAL LOAD → Management → Freezer/Storage Reports.

2. Choose the tab:

   Tab	Filters	Shows
   Freezer/Storage Report	Testing Lab, Freezer/Storage	Every sample in one freezer, with rack, box, position and volume
   Sample Storage History	Testing Lab, Sample ID	Every storage record of one sample

3. Set the filters and select Search.

4. To check the freezer by hand, select Export to excel and compare the sheet with the tubes.

Samples recorded through Storage Bulk Upload do not appear in this report.