Tissue banking in Mexico

Introduction: Here, we describe our Tissue Banking experiences of 4 years of activity in Mexico. Methods: Data of allografts provided by our Bank and bone retrievals performed by our teams between February of 2001 and August of 2004 were included. Results: There were 100 bone donors, a total of 1107 tissues were obtained with an average of 11 tissues by retrieval, samples from all tissues were obtained during retrieval and cultured for bacterial contamination, 250 tissues were positives to bacterial growth with an average of 22.58% of bacterial contamination of tissue by retrieval. A total of 4493 allografts were provided and were utilized in 3643 patients. The allografts were used mainly by orthopedic surgeons (62%) and dentists (30%). The most used allografts were morcellized cancellous bone 31%, pulverized 25% and chips of cancellous bone 20%. Among orthopedic patients the most frequent procedures were related with spine degenerative diseases 39.09%, followed by non-pathological fractures and its complications 28.67% and bone tumors and cystic bone lesions 11.59%. Conclusions: Sustained increase of allograft utilization in Mexico reflects a great necessity for them in our country. The increase in public awareness about tissue donation has allowed an increase in tissue donations and retrievals.     

Tissue banking for research: connecting the disconnected

Delivering the promise of personalised medicine is the challenge that the current generation of scientists face. The variations in human physiology and disease are considerable, and designing appropriate strategies to deliver what has been promised will require access to tissue from a large number of volunteers. The NHS provides an ideal infrastructure for sample acquisition, but requires two things to make this available—public consent and support for extra manpower and administration. There is a disconnection between the NHS and tissue based research that needs to be addressed on a number of levels to provide a translational platform. This should enable the path to be beaten to provide the ideal tailored treatment for future patients; one that preserves quality of life by curing the disease with minimal side effects.     

Tissue banking in South Africa: a 19-year history

The establishment of a Tissue Bank and the science of Tissue Banking in South Africa started in the 1960s and is still developing. This article describes the development and growth of Tissue Banking in South Africa. The current emphasis is to supply viable bone products that have been produced under the best possible quality controlled circumstances; with the collaboration between different Organ Donation Organisations. Through collaboration, a dramatic increase in the number of donors was noted over the years. Concurrently, there was a dramatic increase in the usage of different allograft products and now necessitates the development of new graft materials for expanding patient options. As an ongoing concern, the Tissue Bank in South Africa experienced an ever increase in costs to enhance quality/safety controls: increase in historical patient information, documentation and serological testing in a population struggling to control HIV. To date, the South African Tissue Bank has not experienced any untoward patient incidence since the 1960s and currently is getting over 500 donors per year.     

Tissue banking,biovigilance and the notify library

This issue is dedicated to the contributions of Professor Glyn O. Phillips to the field of tissue banking and the advancement of science in general. The use of ionizing radiation to sterilize medical products drew the interest of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). A meeting in 1976 in Athens Greece to present work on the effects of sterilizing radiation doses upon the antigenic properties of proteins and biologic tissues was my first introduction of Professor Phillips and the role that he was to play in Tissue Banking (Friedlaender, in Phillips GO, Tallentine AN (eds) Radiation sterilization. Irradiated tissues and their potential clinical use. The North E. Wales Institute, Clwyd, p 128, 1978). The IAEA sponsored subsequent meetings in the Republic of Korea, Czechoslovakia and Rangoon, the later including a visit to the tissue bank by Professor Phillips. His advocacy resulted in multiple workshops and teaching opportunities in a variety of countries, one of which led to the establishment of the Asia Pacific Surgical Tissue Banking Association in 1989 (Phillips and Strong, in Phillips GO, Strong DM, von Versen R, Nather A (eds) Advances in tissue banking, vol 3. World Scientific, Singapore, pp 403–417, 1999).     

Tissue banking in Asia Pacific region: past,present and future

Tissue banking in the Asia Pacific regions is driven by two main forces—firstly the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) via Regional Co-operative Agreement projects and secondly by the Asia Pacific Association of Surgical Tissue Banking (APASTB). This overview is written in three sections: (1) History of tissue banking in individual country in the region. (2) History of APASTB. (3) History of IAEA programme in Asia Pacific region. The current status and future of the tissue banking programme in the region will be discussed.     

专业素质与法律素养融合教育的探索——以“微生物学”课程为例

高校是培养高素质创新创业人才的基地,大学生的法律素养成为高校素质教育的重要组成部分。培养大学生法制观念和法律意识,需要多渠道、多层次、多模式地渗透到专业课程的教学中。微生物学是一门涉及法律法规较多的学科,在微生物学的教学过程中,采用生动的语言、真实的案例和情境讨论将相关法律法规渗透于专业知识中,使学生对日常生活及专业相关的法律法规产生具体形象的认识;基于考核方法改革,引导学生设计微生物产品并撰写项目可行性报告,全面考虑产品及行业相关法律法规,提高项目执行力;结合实习、实践活动,了解企业运行法律法规框架,从企业可持续发展的高度认识法律法规的重要性。促使学生从自身实际出发,思考并运用法律法规为自己的人生规划服务,切实有效地推动大学生的综合素质教育,为创新创业人才培养奠定坚实的基础。     

Chronobiology courses at the University of S?o Paulo/Brazil: a four-year experience

We describe the didactic experience of graduate and post-graduate courses on chronobiology in S?o Paulo, Brazil.     

Part-time medical training: 15 years' experience in the Oxford region.

Part-time training of doctors with domestic commitments has taken place successfully in the Oxford region since 1966; 249 doctors have now passed through such training schemes and a further 120 are currently training part-time. Two training schemes are now offered for doctors at senior house officer and registrar level: one of six to eight sessions a week for those undertaking recognised training aiming for consultant or principal in general practice posts, the other of one to two sessions a week providing ad hoc training for those unable for personal reasons to follow a recognised training programme. For doctors at senior registrar level, part-time training entails five to eight sessions a week. Of the 115 doctors who have left the schemes and are now in career posts in the United Kingdom, 19% are now consultants, 30% in other hospital posts, 27% in general practice, and 18% are clinical medical officers; overall, 71% of those in career posts are working part-time. This experience shows that part-time training can be successful and that there is a continuing need for part-time career posts.     

The use of the Internet training course modality in the field of tissue banking: the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)/National University of Singapore (NUS) experience

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) promoted and supported an important training program for the training of tissue bank operators and medical doctors within its radiation and tissue banking program. The purpose of the program was to train an increase number of tissue bank operators and medical doctors in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe, that were working or were associated to a number of tissue banks established in these regions under the IAEA program during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The National University of Singapore Tissue Bank was designated, in 1996, as the Regional Training Centre (RTC) for Asia and the Pacific region and later on, in 2002, as the International Training Centre (ITC) for the whole IAEA program. The National Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires were also designated, in 1999, as the Regional Training Centre for the Latin American region. The objective of the ITC was to train tissue banks operators and medical doctors from all over the world and the RTCs to train tissue bank operators and medical doctors mainly from the Asia and the Pacific and the Latin American regions. Since 1997, training of tissue bank operators and medical doctors were carried out using the modality of distance training courses. However, due to its limitation, this type of courses was transformed, in 2002, in an Internet training course modality, with the purpose to increase not only the number of participants but, at the same time to reduce, as much as possible, the costs associated with the organisation of these courses. Since November 1997, the number of training courses carried out in the RTCs established under the IAEA program was 14, eight of them under the Internet training course modality. The total number of students registered in these courses was 261 and the total number of students graduated was 166 for a rate of approval of 63.6%. The National University of Singapore and the Faculty of Medicine from the University of Buenos Aires are the academic institutions that provide the certificate/diploma to the graduated students.     

Reproductive tissue banking: Scientific principles

edited by A.M. Karow and J.K. Critser, Academic Press, 1997, 472 pp, $99.00. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Homograft banking in Singapore: two years of cardiovascular tissue banking in Southeast Asia

Established in 2008, the National Cardiovascular Homograft Bank (NCHB) has been instrumental in creating an available supply of cardiovascular tissues for implantation in Singapore. This article introduces its collaboration with Singapore General Hospital Skin Bank Unit. The procedure of homograft recovery, processing, cryopreservation and quality assurance are presented. Since its establishment, the NCHB has followed the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health Singapore and the American Association of Tissue Banks. A total of 57 homografts had been recovered and 40 homografts were determined to be suitable for clinical use. The most significant reasons for non-clinical use are positive microbiological culture or unsuitable graft condition. Crucial findings prompted reviews and implementation of new procedures to improve the safety of homograft recipients. These include (1) a change in antibiotic decontamination regime from penicillin and streptomycin to amikacin and vancomycin after a review and (2) mandating histopathogical examination since the discovery of cardiac sarcoidosis in a previously undiagnosed donor. Further, the NCHB also routinely performs dengue virus screening, for donors suspected of dengue infection. Cultural factors which affect the donation rate are also briefly explored. By 2010, 31 homografts had been implanted into recipients with congenital or acquired heart valve conditions. More than half of these recipients were children. Post-operative outcomes had been encouraging, with no report of adverse events attributed to implanted homografts.