Classifying Biological Shipments Safely

Why Classification Matters

Shipping biological substances involves strict rules designed to protect health, safety, and the environment. Failure to follow these rules can result in shipment delays, penalties, or even legal liability. The good news is that once you understand the categories and definitions, the process becomes much easier to manage.

Dangerous Goods and Infectious Substances

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) defines dangerous goods as items that may pose a risk to health, property, or the environment. These include dry ice, batteries, certain chemicals, and many biological substances.

Infectious substances are a narrower category, referring to materials expected to contain pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, or prions. These agents can cause disease in humans or animals.

Before you ship, you must determine whether your material falls into one of the following categories:

• Category A Infectious Substance

• Category B Biological Substance

• Genetically Modified Organism/Microorganism (GMO/GMMO)

• Exempt Human/Animal Specimen

Category A Infectious Substances

Category A covers the highest-risk materials. These are substances capable of causing permanent disability, life-threatening illness, or death when exposure occurs.

• UN 2814: Infectious Substance Affecting Humans

• UN 2900: Infectious Substance Affecting Animals

Examples include rabies cultures or intentionally propagated pathogens such as lab stock cultures. A complete list can be found in IATA’s regulations.

Category B Biological Substances

Category B applies to infectious substances that pose a lower risk than Category A. While still dangerous goods, they do not meet the Category A threshold.

• UN 3373: Biological Substance, Category B

An example would be human serum from a patient with a known viral infection such as COVID-19.

Genetically Modified Organisms and Microorganisms (GMOs/GMMOs)

GMOs and GMMOs are organisms whose genetic material has been deliberately altered. Depending on their risk, they may fall into Category A or B. If not, they are identified separately:

• UN 3245: Genetically Modified Organisms/Microorganisms

For example, an E. coli strain genetically engineered to produce a non-hazardous enzyme would be classified here.

Exempt Human or Animal Specimens

Exempt specimens are commonly shipped for routine testing and pose minimal or no risk. Examples include:

• Blood or urine samples for cholesterol, glucose, or pregnancy testing

• Insurance or employment screenings

• DNA samples for non-pathogen testing

• Dried blood spots or fecal occult samples

• Blood components, organs, or tissues intended for transfusion or transplantation

These specimens require triple packaging but are not assigned a UN number.

Identification: Proper Shipping Name and UN Number

Every dangerous good must have both a Proper Shipping Name (PSN) and a UN Number, except exempt specimens.

Category A:

• UN 2814: Infectious Substance Affecting Humans

• UN 2900: Infectious Substance Affecting Animals

Category B:

• UN 3373: Biological Substance, Category B

GMOs/GMMOs:

• UN 3245: Genetically Modified Microorganism/Organism

Dry Ice:

• UN 1845: Dry Ice

Exempt Specimens:

• Exempt Human Specimen

• Exempt Animal Specimen (no UN number)

Practical Examples

• 5×5 mL of mouse blood for chemistry panel → Exempt Animal Specimen, PSN: Exempt Animal Specimen, UN #: N/A

• 1 mL E. coli strain (genetically modified, non-hazardous) → GMO, PSN: Genetically Modified Microorganism, UN #: 3245

• Human serum from genetic disease patient (no pathogens) → Exempt Patient Specimen, UN #: N/A

• Human serum from COVID-19 positive patient → Category B, PSN: Biological Substance, Category B, UN #: 3373

• Research stock culture of rabies virus → Category A, PSN: Infectious Substance Affecting Humans, UN #: 2814

Final Thoughts

The key to safe, compliant biological shipments is accurate classification. Always assess the greatest potential risk and assign the correct category, PSN, and UN number. Once classification is complete, you can move on to packaging, labeling, and documentation.

Proper classification protects your supply chain, ensures compliance with IATA and DOT rules, and safeguards public health.

Read our companion article to learn how to package and document biological shipments step by step.