External Quality Assurance (EQA) programs exist to monitor the analytical performance of assays, as well as the accuracy of clinical diagnostic interpretation and reporting. For the program to be of high value it is imperative that EQA material is representative of clinical samples. In order to accomplish this, it is important that material is commutable across different methods/reagents/instruments. Proficiency testing materials should be prepared using the same base materials and coagulants whilst the preservative or stabiliser should be limited so as not to change the properties of the sample. Achieving this is particularly challenging for flow cytometric EQA samples.
In this presentation, we will discuss the components required for optimal EQA programs in flow cytometry and highlight the analytical variation in both malignant and non-malignant flow EQA.