Independent quality controls are manufactured under strict quality standard protocols and procedures, providing reliability and reproducibility. They offer consistency from lot to lot and can be used long-term without the need for constant evaluations and protocol alterations.
Patient pools on the other hand, may not be handled in accordance to any specific guidelines or regulations. Utilizing these sample pools can become a time consuming endeavor if appropriate low positive samples cannot be identified for testing.
This approach also prevents data comparison with other laboratories using an interlaboratory program because in order to do so, the labs must share a common pool, which an independent quality control would provide.