Meet Ben Done - Specialist Biomedical Scientist

Image of Ben sitting at his desk in the lab Explain what your job entails? 

Specimens will come up from theatres, each specimen will be given a unique number that allows for easy tracking of the specimen. They will be processed in formalin, alcohol and xylene before being embedding in molten paraffin wax to create a block. This block will be thinly cut at 3 microns and placed onto a slide before H&E staining to be assessed by the pathologist. Extra areas include IHC that will look mainly a cancer specimens and special stains for more specialist diagnosis. Fresh and frozen tissue will also come up and these will be trimmed within a short period of time to aid diagnosis. 

Why did you choose your career? 

I choose my career in histology, because it was interesting to see the process of a specimen coming from the operating table to a glass slide and to aid in the diagnosis of disease. The subject of biology has always interested me and this career allows me to continue that interest. 

What do you love about your job? 

I love my job as I feel I can make a difference to patients by getting work through to the pathologists to get faster results and diagnoses. It’s a fun environment to work within as every day is different and a challenge and it allows me to grow as a person. 

Let us know something that a lot of people don’t know about your job? 

We are the middle ground between the surgeon and the patient as most of the work in between an operation and the patient getting test results is done by us and often goes unknown by other people who only really know doctors and nurses within a hospital. So a lot of our work is 'invisible' but rewarding and a vital part of the process. Another thing people may not know is that we have little to no patient contact and most of our work is done with only ever the consultants never the patients.