The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Program on Radiation and Tissue Banking: a Successful Program for Developing Countries

Since its inception the IAEA program in radiation and tissue banking supported the establishment of twenty five tissue banks in different countries. Now more than 103 tissue banks are now operating in these countries. The production of sterilized tissues has grown in an exponential mode within the IAEA program. From 1988 until the end of 2000 the production of sterilized tissues was 224,706 grafts, with an estimated value of at least $51,768,553 million dollars at the mean current charge rate in non-commercial banks in Europe and USA. During the period 1997–2002 several countries from Asia and the Pacific region produced more than 155,000 grafts, with an estimated value of about $36.7 million dollars. Training was considered to be one of the most important tasks to be supported. A total of 192 students were registered in the training program and 146 students graduated with a University Diploma. For many developing countries an additional benefit is not having to import expensive sterilized tissues from developed countries, but the exposure of orthopedic and plastic surgeons working, to new methods of using allografts in specific surgical treatments.