Introduction to Laboratory Classifications
The Bloodborne Pathogens Standard classifies laboratories into two categories:
- Clinical (or Diagnostic) Laboratories – Workplaces where diagnostic or screening procedures are performed on blood or other potentially infectious materials.
- Research Laboratories – Laboratories that produce or use research-laboratory-scale amounts of HIV or HBV.
Laboratory Types
Clinical (or Diagnostic) Laboratories include:
- Hospital laboratories
- Free-standing clinical or diagnostic labs
- Labs in dental or medical offices
- Blood and plasma center labs
- Dental laboratories
- Laboratories preparing reagents from human blood or blood components
- Labs conducting research using blood or blood components without producing or using concentrated amounts of HIV or HBV
Research Laboratories are defined as those producing or using research-laboratory-scale amounts of HIV or HBV. These labs may produce high concentrations of the viruses, but not in the large volumes typical of production facilities. In contrast, production facilities generate large volumes of HIV or HBV, but not necessarily at high concentrations.