In placenta research, tissue quality is essential for following laboratory investigations. In clinical settings with deliveries as an unpredictable factor, delayed sampling or incorrect storage until sampling is a common problem. Therefore, we set out to define time points for different storage conditions where good tissue quality is still achievable. RNA related parameters like 260/280-ratio, RNA integrity number (RIN) and gene expression were analyzed in 172 samples over a 24-h interval. We suggest a cut-off-point of 3-h after delivery of the placenta to ensure good tissue and RNA quality, especially when selecting genes with complex or low mRNA expression levels.