Use of survey-validated reference materials (survey serum) to establish target values of quality control pools.

Specimens used in the College of American Pathologists Survey Programs are sometimes manufactured in excess of Survey needs, and these excess specimens are made available to Survey participants after a survey is completed. These survey-validated reference materials (SVRM's) are a valuable resource to the clinical laboratory field. SVRM's are continually renewed, have a range of analyte concentrations, have reliable target values assigned for more than 20 analytes, and for all methods that are in common use. The materials are useful for assigning appropriate target values to other serum materials used by laboratories, for investigating the accuracy of a laboratory's analytic procedures, and as trouble-shooting aids. The wide availability of SVRM's offers a new opportunity for improving the analytic reliability of quantitative clinical assays.