European Association Of Tissue Banks Research Articles

Early Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on the Availability of Cornea Donors: Warnings and Recommendations.

Keratoplasty is one of the irreplaceable treatment options for corneal diseases. Currently, there is no evidence to substantiate that harvested corneal grafts from COVID-19 patients can contain SARS-CoV-2 virus and lead to a systemic infection. Although the risk of transmission through corneal stromal tissue is low, it potentially exists. Lack of clinical data, unclear potential of donor-derived infection and non-established recommendations for transplantation during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of keratoplasty and cornea donors at ophthalmology departments and eye banks. To eliminate the risk of infection of recipients and medical personnel, we suggest that the blood samples of all donors should be screened with RT-PCR tests and nasopharyngeal swabs should be taken. In addition, a chest CT scan should be performed if the circulation is maintained. Moreover, the donors’ clinical and epidemiological medical history must be screened for typical symptoms and potential contact with SARS-CoV-2 carriers to reduce the risk of transmission. The Guidelines of the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA), Global Alliance of Eye Bank Associations (GAEBA) and European Association of Tissue Banks provide useful recommendations to eliminate the risk of transmission according to previous experiences based on similar viruses.

Tissue banking in Bangladesh: 12 years of experience (2003–2014)

Tissue Banking and Biomaterial Research Unit (TBBRU), the only tissue bank of Bangladesh, has been established to create an available supply of human tissue allografts for transplantation in Bangladesh. Since its establishment in 2003, TBBRU strictly follows the guidelines of tissue banking setup by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the European Association of Tissue Banks and the American Association of Tissue Banks. Though started serving from earlier, regular supply of tissue allografts from this bank were documented at the end of 2006. From January 2007 to December 2014, 3747 bones and 5772 amniotic sacs were collected from live tissue donors. During this period, 59,489 cc bone allografts and 23,472 pieces of amniotic membrane allografts were processed. In the same period, 58,483cc bone allografts and 20,786 pieces membrane were supplied to different hospitals throughout the country on the basis of demand. The outcomes of the concerted efforts of tissue banking professionals and physicians were the restoration of health and hope of 3662 patients during the last 8years.

Report of the clinical donor case workshop of the European Association of Tissue Banks Annual Congress 2013.

The European Association of Tissue Banks (EATB) Donor Case Workshop is a forum held within the program of the EATB Annual Congress. The workshop offers an opportunity to discuss and evaluate approaches taken to challenging donor selection and donation ethics, and it strengthens networking between tissue banking professionals. The workshops actively engage participants from a wide array of international expertise, in an informal, secure and enjoyable setting in which learning from peers and finding potential solutions for submitted cases are facilitated. This report reflects some of the discussion at the Donor Case Workshop during the EATB Annual Congress in Brussels in 2013. The presented cases demonstrate that the findings, their interpretation, the resulting actions and preventive measures in the different tissue facilities are not always predictable. The varied responses from participants and lack of consensus corroborate this and clearly indicate that operating procedures do not comprehensively cover or prepare for all eventualities. For many of the issues raised there is no relevant information in the published literature. By publication of a summary of the discussions we hope to reach a wider audience, to provide information gathered at the workshop and to stimulate individuals and institutions to undertake further literature reviews or to undertake research in order to gather evidence concerning the discussed topics.

Report of the clinical donor case workshop of the European Association of Tissue Banks annual meeting 2012

The European Association of Tissue Banks (EATB) donor case workshop is a forum held within the program of the EATB annual congress. The workshop offers an opportunity to discuss and evaluate approaches taken to challenging situations regarding donor selection, it promotes consensus development in deciding tissue donor acceptability when donor health issues are not addressed in standards and regulations, and serves to strengthen the professional tissue banking networks across Europe and beyond. This report reflects some of the discussion at the workshop during the annual congress in Vienna in 2012. The cases presented dealt with problems encountered by tissue bank facilities concerning idiopathic thrombocytopenia and auto-immune disorders, hemodilution and blood sample identification, premalignant and malignant lesions, and Huntington's disease. The discussions during the workshop demonstrate that the implications on the safety of tissue transplantation of various tissue donor illnesses, physical findings and behaviours, and the preventive measures taken by tissue facilities, may not always be agreed by tissue facility medical directors and other professionals. Moreover, they reveal that operating procedures, regulations and standards cannot comprehensively cover all tissue donor findings, medical histories and circumstances surrounding the cause of death. For many of the issues raised, there is a need for scientific research to provide a better evidence base for future deliberations about the suitability and eligibility of tissue allograft donors.

Results of the clinical donor case and quality system case workshops of the European Association of Tissue Banks annual meeting 2009

The European Association of Tissue Banks (EATB) Donor Case Workshop and Quality System Case workshop are forums held within the program of the EATB Annual Congress. These workshops offer an opportunity to discuss and evaluate approaches taken to challenging situations, regarding donor selection and quality issues, and strengthen the professional tissue banking and regulatory networks across Europe. This report reflects some of the discussion at the congress workshops and also subsequent correspondence between the various individuals who submitted cases for discussion. The cases presented to the workshops demonstrate that the findings, their interpretation, deducted actions and preventive measures in tissue banks are not predictable. The varied responses and lack of consensus corroborate this and clearly indicate that operating procedures cannot comprehensively cover or prepare for all eventualities. For many of the issues raised there is a lack of information in the published literature. The workshops actively engage participants, representing a wide array of international expertise, in an informal, secure and enjoyable setting, which facilitates learning from peers and provides potential solutions to those submitting cases. By publishing a summary of the discussions, we hope to reach a wider audience and to stimulate individuals to undertake full literature reviews or research on some of the discussed subjects.

Coding and traceability for products of human origin

Abbreviations AATB American Association of Tissue Banks AETB Spanish Association of Tissue Banks BATB British Association of Tissue Banks CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention EATB European Association of Tissue Banks, IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ISBT International Society of Blood Transfusion TTSN Transplantation Transmission Sentinel Network UNOS United Network for Organ Sharing WHO World Health Organization

International collaboration between tissue banking associations

This volume of Cell and Tissue Banking is a very important Special Issue of the Journal. It clearly demonstrates the increasing international collaboration between tissue banking associations. It contains the report of the 17th International Congress of the European Association of Tissue Banks (EATB), which was held jointly with the 17th Annual Meeting of the British Association for Tissue Banking (BATB). It also included, for the very first time, a cardiovascular symposium held jointly by three tissue banking associations, EATB, BATB and the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB). This Congress was held in November 2008 in Edinburgh, UK and received excellent evaluation from its international participants. There were 23 invited speakers who submitted elegant short papers on the subject of their talks, which are to be found in this volume, as well as the abstracts that were accepted for free papers given as either an oral presentation or poster. In addition, this volume is graced with 5 invited full papers, which were considered to be some of the best free papers that were presented at the meeting. A report co-written with Scott Brubaker, Chief Policy Officer, AATB, John Kearney, Chair of the Scientific Abstract Management Committee for the Congress, Robert Parker Chair of the Local Organising Committee, and myself as EATB President 2007–2009, describes the meeting in greater detail and is included in this Special Issue. This volume also includes a paper from Scott Brubaker (as above), Chad J. Ronholdt, Chair, AATB Scientific and Technical Affairs Committee, 2005– 2008 and Mark Moore, Chair-elect AATB Scientific and Technical Affairs Committee, 2009–2001. This paper describes the 32nd Annual Meeting of the AATB, which was held in Chicago, Illinois, USA and this volume also contains the abstracts from that meeting which, for the first time, were managed through an on-line submission system. Clinical and scientific progress in tissue banking continues to be made at rapid pace. The evolving partnership between the various associations, their members and regulators and many others who contributed to the Congress have all facilitated professional dialogue, one of the many facets of cooperation that is benefiting tissue recipients and which will further develop over the years to come. Guest Editor CATB Special Issue EATB-BATB-AATB President EATB 2007–2009

Report of the 17th International Congress of the European Association of Tissue Banks (EATB) held jointly with the 17th Annual Congress of the British Association for Tissue Banking (BATB) including EATB/BATB/American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) Cardiovascular Symposium

The 17th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Tissue Banks (EATB) was held in Edinburgh in November 2008 together with the British Association for Tissue Banking (BATB) and received excellent evaluation by its participants. The meeting included, for the first time, a cardiovascular symposium co-organised by EATB and BATB together with the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB). This was a first in terms of collaboration for the three associations. The many professionals involved in organising the meeting created an excellent clinical and scientific programme including regulatory issues and featured, also for the first time three interactive workshops about clinical donor cases, quality management and cardiovascular allografts.

Physical examination of the potential tissue donor, what do European tissue banks do?

According to the EU Directive 2006/17/EC, European tissue banks are required to perform a physical examination on every potential tissue donor. The directive itself, however, does not specify the content of this examination. The aim of this study was to investigate the current practice of physical examination in European tissue banks. A questionnaire was drawn up and sent to the members of the European Association of Tissue Banks and the European Eye Bank Association. Information was gathered on the type of procurement; the personnel involved (number, educational background and training); the content of physical examination; the problems encountered; and the outcome of the performed physical examinations. Completed questionnaires were received from 32 European tissue banks (response rate of 35%). Of these tissue banks, 73% perform a physical examination. The most frequently encountered problems are the inability to open the mouth due to rigor mortis, the inability to examine the total body surface and the incapacity to palpate the lymph nodes. Tissue banks reject potential donors, based on the results of the physical examination in 5% of cases (median rejection rate). Twenty-seven percent of the responding tissue banks do not perform a physical examination. This was most often due to a lack of adequate educational background and/or a lack of appropriate training.

EATB Donor Case Workshop 2007

The European Association of Tissue Banks (EATB) Donor Case Workshop is a forum held within the programme of the EATB annual Congress since 2003. This workshop has been used to discuss clinical donor cases with peer review of practice. It was agreed in advance that the experience of the 2007 workshop should be shared by publication as an example of participative learning which can be extended to other fields within tissue banking and which may be applicable in other disciplines. The EATB Congress in 2008 will extend the idea of participative open workshops with two additional workshops, one on Quality System cases and another on heart valve cases.

Femoral Head Banking: NUH Tissue Bank Experience

National University Hospital Tissue Bank protocol follows guidelines recommended by the American Association of Tissue Banks and the European Association of Tissue Banks using donor selection criteria: medical history, clinical examination, chart review and laboratory tests for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and specimen for culture/sensitivity tests. For living donors, repeat testing is performed for AIDS and hepatitis C approximately 180 days after procurement. Femoral heads are procured using the "sterile double jar technique" and stored at -80 degrees C. Our first study of 273 consecutive potential donors undergoing hemiarthroplasty from 1989 to 1994 showed that a high percentage (42.5%) was unsuitable for use. A second study involving 175 potential donors was conducted from 1995 to 2003 after hepatitis C screening was introduced. The bacterial contamination rates in both studies (3.5% and 5.7%) are low. The incidence of other diseases also are low: hepatitis B, 2.3% and syphilis, 1.8% in the first study and hepatitis B, 5.7%; hepatitis C, 0.6%; and syphilis, 5.1% in the second cohort. No cases of AIDS were reported in either study. By 2003, femoral heads were transplanted in 205 patients with a low complication rate of 2.9%.

Musculoskeletal Tissue Banking in Singapore: 15 Years of Experience (1988–2003)

To report 15 years' experience of musculoskeletal tissue banking by the National University Hospital Tissue Bank. This study describes the development of Singapore's national bone bank since its establishment in 1988. The bone bank's protocol follows guidelines recommended by the American Association of Tissue Banks and the European Association of Tissue Banks using strict donor selection criteria. Informed consent is obtained from all potential donors for tissue procurement and laboratory tests. Detailed medical history, thorough clinical examination, and chart review is performed for consenting donors. Suitable donors are subjected to tests for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and culture/sensitivity test of tissue for aerobic and anaerobic organisms. For living donors, repeat testing for AIDS and hepatitis C is performed at least 180 days after procurement. Tissue procurement is performed under sterile conditions. Small tissues are procured using the 'sterile double jar technique' and long bones using the 'sterile triple wrap technique', both developed by the author. Deep-frozen bones are gamma irradiated at 25 kilograys. Morsellised bones are lyophilised and gamma irradiated. Meticulous preparation for grafts is performed during transplantation. Antibiotic prophylaxis is used for 2 weeks. The bank maintains a good quality control. In January 2003, it was accredited ISO 9001 status. Up to June 2003, it has procured 440 bones from 440 living donors and 1055 allografts from 63 deceased donors. 854 musculoskeletal transplantations have been performed using tissues processed by the bank. Complication rate encountered was only 2.2%. The tissue bank provides high-quality allografts for safe tissue transplantations.

Professor Janusz Komender: European Association of Tissue Banks (EATB) Honorary Member for 2000.

Professor Janusz Komender: European Association of Tissue Banks (EATB) Honorary Member for 2000.

European association of tissue banks standards for cryopreserved cardiovascular tissue banking.

The Cardiovascular Tissue Banking Standards are designed as an addition to the General Standards of the European Association of Tissue Banks to provide a minimum acceptable level for the donation, processing, storage, testing, labelling and distribution of cardiac tissue throughout Europe. The aim is that all heart valve banks in Europe should work to these Standards so that heart valves can be exchanged between countries without having to check the individual protocols of the donor processing facility. The writing of the Standards has been performed by the Heart Valve Council of EATB with input from cardiac surgeons. It is proposed that once the Standards are accepted they will form the document on which EATB may accredit tissue banks in the future and may form the basis on which National Legislation for Tissue Banking is based.

Brief history of the tissue bank, charles university hospital, hradec králové, czech republic.

A brief history of the Tissue Bank (TB) of the University Hospital Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, established by Dr. R. Klen in 1952 is presented. In Dr. Klen's original concept the TB was defined as a department specialised in the harvesting, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of various kinds of tissue for clinical and experimental practice. The first kinds of tissue collected in cadaveric donors were corneas, bone and skin. Xenogeneic cartilage and bone grafts were prepared at the same time. Later, preparation of soft connective tissues and chorion-amnion was introduced. During the first 15 years of activity a total of 11,443 grafts preserved by hypothermy at +4 degrees C or freezing in absence of cryoprotectants (-20 degrees C) were prepared. In the 60's freeze-drying of tissue grafts was introduced and the bank of cryopreserved cell lines was established. In the 80's cryopreservation of haematopoietic progenitor cells for clinical transplantations was started and the spectrum of tissue grafts was enlarged (xenogeneic pericardium and allogeneic specially treated dura mater for neurosurgical operations, pigskin for burn treatment, demineralised bone for parodontology and implantology). In the 90's human keratinocyte culture for treatment of burns and chronic skin defects was started. The human milk bank and organ bank co-operating with the Regional Transplantation Centre are component parts of the TB as well. The TB is an institutional member of the European Association of Tissue Banks and annually delivers approximately 1000 grafts that are used in University and county hospitals as well as in surgeons' private practices. Health insurance companies reimburse all grafts on a non-profit and tax-free basis.

The Analysis of Bacterial Results in the Kidney Perfusion Fluid and Bone Allografts in Human Multiorgan Donors.

In 19 young human multiorgan donors, we simultaneously analyzed the bacterial contamination of the kidney perfusion fluid and all retrieved bone allografts. Donor exclusion criteria were done according to the American and European Association of Tissue Banks excluding all patients with perforating wounds. The kidney perfusate revealed a contamination in 17 of 19 (89.5%) donors. Allograft testing demonstrated positive bacterial growth in 34 of 76 allografts (44.7%). Microorganisms originated from the normal skin flora and could be related to contamination during the harvesting procedure. In 5 cases we cultured identical bacterial subspecies in both cultures as a possible sign for systemic bacterial spreading during the multiorgan harvesting procedure.

Osteochondral resurfacing of the knee joint with allograft. Clinical analysis of 33 cases.

This retrospective clinical study describes three years of experience with cryoprotected-cryopreserved allograft transplantation. During this period 33 knee joints were operated on for different reasons including osteoarthritis, osteochondritis dissecans and post-traumatic surface irregularity. The mean follow-up was nearly two years and the mean age of the patients was 48 years. The grafts were harvested and processed at the West Hungarian Tissue Bank according to the criteria promulgated by the European Association of Tissue Banks. All the operations were performed in the same way. Three types of grafts were used: cylindrical or mushroom-shaped for the femoral condyle and patellar and shell allografts for resurfacing the tibial plateau. Bone matrix gelatine (BMG) and fibrin sealant (Tissucol) were used locally to enhance the revascularisation and to improve the decreased osteoinductivity of the frozen cancellous bone. According to the modified Bentley score, the success rate of the short term follow-up was similar to that of other reported series. An analysis of four biopsies showed that the BMG and fibrin sealant did not appear to affect the viability of the articular cartilage. We conclude that application of these materials is not contra-indicated in allograft surgery.