Organ Donation Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Organ Donation, including details on risks, procedure, surgery, outcomes.

Overview of procurement, processing, and sterilization of soft tissue allografts for sports medicine.

Suarez LS, Richmond JC

Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, Mexico City, Mexico.

Musculoskeletal allografts are commonly used in orthopedic surgery and have become increasingly popular. Their indications have widened as an alternatives to autografts. A tissue processing industry has secondarily evolved. An increasing number of accredited tissue banks are providing donor screening, procurement, processing, storage, and distribution of tissue. Multiple factors play a role for a graft to be successfully implanted: sterility, reduction of antigenicity, and preservation of its biologic and biomechanical properties. A rare but catastrophic complication that has raised concern is disease transmission. Controversies exist on which is the best way to produce a strong, disease-free graft. There is no current standard, but as allograft technology evolves, surgeons need to be aware of the regulations and policies surrounding allograft tissue procurement and processing to provide the best outcomes in transplanted patients.

Published 16 August 2007 in Sports Med Arthrosc, 15(3): 106-13.
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