Specimen Management Branch (SMB)

The Specimen Management Branch provides services for the movement of specimens to, from, and within CDC, including receiving, triaging, processing, and distributing specimens to laboratories across CDC. SMB also tracks and accessions specimen information into a CDC enterprise LIMS system used by CDC laboratories for reference diagnostic testing, research studies, and epidemics. Additionally, the branch reports diagnostic test results to submitting organizations.

The responsibility for managing all CDC exports and ensuring compliance with regulations for shipping clinical specimens, infectious substances, and other materials lies within this branch. Additionally, SMB serves as the CDC liaison with the Department of Commerce for export-related issues.

SMB provides centralized specimen management services for diagnostic, reference, and outbreak investigations and maintains a bank of serum and other biological specimens of epidemiological and special significance to CDC’s research and diagnostic activities managing comprehensive inventory and tracking systems for specimen collections.

Specimen Management Branch Activities

• Receive, triage, and coordinate final laboratory specimen test results to authorized public health laboratories
• Package and ship non-infectious and infectious substances, in vitro diagnostic kits, reference reagents, select agents
• Process serum and other biologic specimens for epidemiologic and research studies