Autograft
A patient's own tissue - an autograft - can often be used for a surgical reconstruction procedure. Autograft tissue is the safest and fastest-healing tissue that can be used. However, harvesting autograft tissue creates a second surgical site from which the patient must recover. The additional recovery time can extend a patient’s hospital stay. In addition, the secondary site could be uncomfortable for years after the surgery.
Allograft
Allograft tissue, taken from another person, takes longer to incorporate into the recipient's body, but there is no second surgical site to heal. Also, the surgical time and hospital stay may be shorter when allograft tissue is used. Allograft tissue transplants are not rejected by the body as with organ transplants, so that it is not necessary to use drugs to suppress the body’s immune response.
Also in This Section
Allograft vs. Autograft
A patient's own tissue - an autograft - can often be used for a surgical reconstruction procedure. Allograft tissue, taken from another person, takes longer to incorporate into the recpient’s body .
Tissue Donation
When a hospital patient dies and the expired patient meets tissue-donor criteria, the family may be asked if it is interested in tissue donation.
Tissue Processing
Once tissues are received, the processing organization stores the tissues in temperature controlled sub-zero freezers while donor medical history and the results of cultures and blood tests are reviewed.
Tissue Tracking
The American Association of Tissue Bank and Joint Commission Accredited Hospital Organization require that all human tissues must be able to be tracked from donor to recipient.
Storage and Distribution
Human tissues do not have to be used immediately. They can be stored for a period of time until they are needed.
Implantation and Safety
The chart below lists some of the types of reconstructive surgeries such as orthopedic, neurologic, cardiovascular, spinal, ophthalmologic, and sports medicine that might utilize human tissue. The chart also includes tissue grafts normally used for these surgeries:
