What does QA for surgical pathology aim to identify?

Quality Assurance (QA) for surgical pathology primarily focuses on verifying and maintaining high standards in diagnostic practices to ensure accurate and reliable results. One of the critical aspects of QA is the identification of "floaters" in surgical pathology specimens. "Floaters" refers to non-specific materials or artifacts that can appear in tissue samples, which may obstruct the interpretation of the pathology results.

Recognizing these artifacts is crucial because they can mislead pathologists and potentially result in incorrect diagnoses. QA processes in surgical pathology involve various checks and balances, including the review of specimens to ensure that all components are representative of the tissue being analyzed and that no extraneous materials interfere with the analysis.

The other options provided relate to different aspects of laboratory quality and procedures but do not directly address the specific aims of QA in surgical pathology. For example, the function of the assay may relate more to laboratory tests than to the pathological evaluation of tissues. The presence of donor alleles is relevant in transplant scenarios, while contamination in reagents pertains to broader laboratory quality issues rather than the specific challenges faced within surgical pathology specimens.