Musculoskeletal tissue banking in Western Australia: review of the first ten years

• Published in: ANZ journal of surgery Vol. 75; no. 8; pp. 665 - 671
• Main Authors: Winter, Joyleen M., Cowie, Anne I., Wood, David J., Zheng, Ming H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Pty 01.08.2005
• Subjects: allotransplantation; Australia; Bacterial Infections - etiology; Bone and Bones - microbiology; Bone Banks; Bone Transplantation; donor screening; Femur Head - transplantation; Graft Rejection; Humans; Muscle, Skeletal - microbiology; Muscle, Skeletal - transplantation; musculoskeletal tissue allograft; Postoperative Complications; postoperative infection; quality assurance; Tissue and Organ Harvesting; Tissue Banks; Tissue Donors - supply & distribution; Transplantation, Homologous - standards; Australia
• ISSN: 1445-1433; 1445-2197
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2005.03492.x

Background:  Musculoskeletal tissue allotransplantation has been used as a standard approach for reconstructive surgery. The present study has reviewed the banking of musculoskeletal tissue at the Perth Bone and Tissue Bank (PBTB) and provided evidence of quality assurance on musculoskeletal tissue allotransplantation. Methods:  All donor tissues were processed in accordance with the Therapeutic Goods Administration's relevant codes of good manufacturing practices. Microbiological monitoring at each step of manufacture and postoperative surveying of the musculoskeletal allotransplantations were both conducted. The possible contribution of contaminants in allografts to postoperative infections was also assessed. Results:  Of the 5276 donors obtained over the last 10 years, 1672 were rejected, giving an overall donor rejection rate of 32%. Milled femoral heads were the most frequently implanted allografts, followed by whole femoral heads. In the postoperative survey an infection rate of 4.9% was found (113/2321 recipients). The infectious agents were identified in 65 cases but for 60 of these there were no correlations with the positive culture test results for the allografts. The organism most commonly identified in postoperative infections was Staphylococcus species. Conclusions:  The present study shows evidence that musculoskeletal tissue allotransplantation is a safe procedure when accompanied by high standards of quality assurance.