Donation, banking, and transplantation of allograft tissues

Abstract

The use of allograft tissues in clinical practice has become not only an acceptable means of disease treatment, but in many cases a desirable one. The use of tissue allografts lessens patient morbidity and suffering and in many cases spares limbs and lives. This demonstrated acceptability and need has become the impetus for tissue banking. Tissue banks, through technological advances in tissue and organ preservation, have become a partner in the delivery of modern health care services. Tissue banks are charged with a public trust, one that demands a profound respect for the dignity and worth of human life. It is only through the humanitarian actions of donors and donor families--people helping people, the noblest of principles--that tissue transplantation is made possible.