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I think Keith Kelley's comment, " I'm sure that most of us know of at
least one good flow cytometer lying around under a piece of plastic waiting
for a good pair of hands.", identifies the heart of the problem. Many
instruments are abandoned, under-utilized or misused due to the unavailability
of "a good pair of hands" (preferably attached to a body containing something
resembling a brain). About 2 years ago I salvaged a FACS 440 from an
institution that was in much better condition than the FACS IV I was
using at the time. In Manhattan, space is a precious commodity and
there is a tendency to discard valuable equipment just for the room. So, while
there is a need to establish a mechanism to donate flow instruments to
disadvantaged countries, the bigger problem is qualified people for training,
operating and maintaining the instruments.
It's interesting that this discussion is taking place now because there is
a similar discussion about "general lab equipment - incubators to centrifuges"
taking place on BIONET. It is extremely frustrating to see usable equipment
going to waste because it isn't "state-of-the-art" or qualified people are not
available to use it.
Tom Delohery
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Tom Delohery | Internet: tdeloher@bigmac.mskcc.org
Manager, Flow Cytometry Core Facility | Phone: (212) 639-8729
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center | Fax: (212) 794-4019
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They're growing houses in the fields between the towns!
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