MICROBIOLOGICAL MONITORING OF BONE-GRAFTS - 2 YEARS EXPERIENCE AT A TISSUE-BANK

In the first two years of operation of a tissue bank, bone was process ed on 63 occasions from 22 cadaveric donors and on 37 occasions from 1 85 living donors. A standardized protocol for microbiological sampling , culturing and interpretation of the results was developed. Semi-quan titative culture of washings of bone was performed on receipt by the t issue bank, and broth enrichment cultures of bone samples were perform ed at the end of processing, and again after irradiation. One bone don ation was rejected because of heavy contamination with Klebsiella sp. on receipt, and contamination of six donations with Burkholderia cepac ia was shown to have come from a water deionizer. Contamination of bon e on receipt by the tissue bank decreased during the study period, pro bably related to increasing experience of staff harvesting bone, Micro biological surveillance of bone grafts protect recipients from infecti on, and is useful as a qualify control of the process of bone banking.