HUMAN BONE AND TISSUE ALLOGRAFTS - PREPARATION AND SAFETY

Currently, modern tissue banks routinely supply requested bone and sof t-tissue allografts. These allografts are safe if tissue-bank personne l adhere to the existing methodology for excluding any donors with pot ential for disease transmission. The authors' discard rate after excis ion of tissues has been approximately 18%, reflecting their concern fo r allograft safety. The preparation of significant numbers of allograf ts is labor intensive and very expensive, as is multiphasic screening of donors. However, long-term success with a large number of bone or s oft-tissue recipient patients has led physicians and patients to ha, e confidence in the safety of allografts prepared as described.