I received a cd3 T cell isolation kit from a Miltenyi distributor with 1 month left on its shelf life. I called them but they said all Miltenyi kits have a shelf life of 6 month. Is this true or a case of fraud?
If they say the kit has a shelf life of 6 months and the one you received expires in a month, insist that they send you a replacement kit.
Chances are that your kit would work just fine as most reagents work even after expiry. But if something goes wrong, you would not want to spend your time troubleshooting.
I know Milteny as a serious and trustworthy Company so, I have no hesitation in defining this behavior as not reasonable and not in agreement with this reputation. My suggestion to Mustafa is to repeat your request again
Good luck. Antonio
I have used Miltenyi kits after 5 years from the expiration date and they work perfectly. Antibodies can last forever.
Thanks for the replies. Apparently this kit has a expiry date of 6 month.
mostafa
HI
Me too i have used kits after several years from the expiration date with the same results of the new one
The question is not related to the stability of reagents after the expiration date but regards the reliability of a company (in this case, Miltenyi. In this case, objectionable). Apart from this, I would remember to Colleagues who proclaim the use of expired reagents (from many years!) that this behaviour is not in according to the good laboratory practice, is not legal and in contrast with the UNI EN ISO 15189: 2016 international accreditation system for the clinical laboratory. Finally, I would not think about the risks to patients which is not predictable and not quantifiable and, therefore potentially dangerous.
I kind of agree and disagree with you. Obviously, my comment was related to RUO only reagents such as the Milteniy CD3 isolation kit! Nobody should use reagent for clinical investigation if they are expired, but this knowledge is part of every clinical laboratory training. In this instance we were discussing if a reagent close to the expiration date is still usable to isolate CD3 T cells for RUO. Yes, it is, and likely it will be even in few years without loss of function. The worst that can happen is a reduced yield.
Without controversy: if I were an ISO inspector and i had found in use a reagent expired years ago I would assign a serious non-conformity, regardless of the use you would do with that reagent. Many years of working in a clinical laboratory have taught me that there are no reasons to order reagents today that will be used a few years later. So the problem we are discussing is not just about the technical aspect of the stability of a reagent, but the need for a professional to use the resources available carefully and appropriately. This, I think was also the need of the Colleague Mostafa who started the discussion.
Sorry for my animosity caused d by a profession I love although I've been retired for almost 10 years. For this reason I continually try to make it better by using my (little) knowledge and (much) experience
Sincerely, Antonio
Don't worry Antonio, I understand your point. However, when you work in a research lab living with grants, all the reagents left from an experiment are stored for later time/ideas/quick test. Clinical labs are different and, as I said before, I agree that they have to follow all the regulations in place.
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