Celebrating 100 years of Mater Pathology

29/Aug/2019     HealthMater GroupPathology

From its humble beginnings in 1919, Mater Pathology was Queensland’s first hospital laboratory and established by Sister Mary Chanel, the Matron of the public hospital. After 100 years of exceptional service to the Brisbane community, Mater Pathology has a rich history owed to the dedication and support of many people who have worked in the service.

Below are just a few of the significant highlights that Mater Pathology has accomplished over the past 100 years:

  • During World War II Mater Pathology helped supply New Guinea with blood to assist the wounded troops during the war. As there was no blood transfusion service or blood bank in Brisbane at the time, Sister Mary Chanel and her colleagues coordinated collections with donors coming to the hospital once a week after 5 pm to donate.

  • In 1963, Mater Pathology was the first Cytogenetic lab in Brisbane, established by Sister Regis Mary. The Cytogenetic test that was conducted at the time focused on cervical cytology, which played an important role in diagnosis and management of lymphomas and tumours.

  • Mater Pathology continued to lead the way in testing over the following years and in 1993 was the only public laboratory offering FISH (Fluorescence in situ hybridisation) on a routine basis for analysis and research of chromosomal abnormalities.

  • In 2009, Mater Pathology was the first laboratory in Queensland to offer high resolution micro-arrays as a diagnostic tool in genetics.

  • In 2016, Mater Pathology developed unique rapid testing for sepsis and blood stream infections providing earlier clinical notification of organism identification in blood cultures.

Today, Mater Pathology is driven by the very same passion that led the Sisters who started the service and continues to support the community through the 28 collection centres around Brisbane.

Read more about Mater Pathology or find a collection centre near you.

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