frequently asked questions about tissue transplants
Q. What is a bone or tissue allograft?
A. The bones or tissues that are transplanted from the body of one person to another person are called allografts. Tissue allografts can include: bones, heart valves, blood vessels, skin and tendons.
Q. Where do allograft bones and tissues come from?
A. Allograft bones and tissues are obtained from donors whose next-of-kin have given consent to donate the tissues of their loved ones.
Q. Are there laws and regulations that govern tissue transplantation and who oversees tissue banks?
A. Yes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that all establishments that recover, process, store, label, package or distribute human tissue for transplantation, or that screen or test donors, register with the FDA. The FDA ensures that donors are screened for specific risk factors and tested for certain diseases, and that facilities employ defined Good Tissue Practices, known as GTP's. The GTP's are designed to ensure that sound practices are followed to reduce the risk of tissue contamination and of transmitting communicable diseases recipients. A more complete description of these rules can be found on the web at: www.fda.gov/cber/tissue/docs.htm.
Q. How common is the use of bone and tissue allografts?
A. According to data from the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB), approximately 1.5 million bone and tissue allografts are distributed each year by AATB-accredited tissue banks in the United States. During the 20-year history of Northwest Tissue Services, we have distributed over 100,000 allografts for transplantation.
Q. How are allografts used?
A. Bone and tissue allografts are used in a variety of procedures. Skin grafts aid burn victims and can be lifesaving, providing pain relief and a barrier to infection for these patients. Large bone allografts can prevent amputation for many patients with bone cancer and serious traumatic injuries. Smaller bone and soft tissue grafts are more common and have many uses in a variety of procedures such as spinal fusions, joint replacements, and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repairs. Heart valves offer children and adults an alternative to prosthetic valve transplants that require patients to take lifelong anticoagulant (blood thinning) medication.
Q. Can allograft tissues transmit infections?
A. There have been rare instances where allograft tissues have transmitted infections to recipients. In most instances the infection was present in the donor at the time of death but was not detected. In some cases, tissues have been contaminated during removal, transport, processing, or storage. It is important to note that many of these instances have been investigated carefully and resulted in improvements to methods for screening and testing donors for infections. They have also resulted in improved processing to prevent contamination and for removing or inactivating organisms that may be present in allografts.
Q. Who recovers tissues from donors?
A. All tissues are recovered by tissue bank specialists certified by AATB. Northwest Tissue Services uses controlled recovery procedures that are only performed in an operating room environment and are never post-autopsy. Northwest Tissue Services recovers tissue aseptically and processes it by strict adherence to surgical principles and clean-room protocols.
Q. What happens to tissues from eligible donors once they are recovered?
A. After tissues are recovered from the donor, Northwest Tissue Services technologists perform multiple bacterial cultures on each tissue recovered and processed. Tissues are screened for transmissible infectious diseases. Donor tissue cannot be released for transplant until all screening and testing processes are completed and a medical expert reviews and evaluates the results.