Working Together
In tissue banking, both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations operate to make up a network of tissue banks, organ procurement organizations and eye banks that recover and distribute tissue.
Not-for-profit and for-profit tissue banks work together through strategic alliances and partnerships:
- To benefit of all those involved in the tissue transplantation process, including transplant recipients, donors, donor families, physicians and hospitals.
- To obtain funding or expertise for research and development.
- Utilize their marketing capabilities and representative forces to increase exposure to the end user (i.e., hospital, physician).
- And/or to offer some financial stability for the near future over the term of such a contractual relationship.
Tissue Processing and Disease Prevention
- Tissue transplantation has an impressive safety record. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the incidence of infections is estimated to be 0.0004% from approximately 900,000 allografts transplanted per year.
- Human tissue products are inherently biocompatible, meaning they can be incorporated into a human body more easily and with fewer complications than many synthetic products.
- Every medical procedure, including the use of tissue for transplant, comes with risks and benefits. The AATB encourages any patient considering a tissue transplant to discuss the risks and benefits of the procedure with his or her physician.
Saving and Improving Lives
Millions of people receive tissue transplants that improve their lives, with minimal risk, in a highly regulated system supported by compassionate professionals and technical experts.
Saving and improving lives through tissue transplantation would not be possible without the tens of thousands of donors and their families who authorize the gift of tissue donation.
