Tissue Organizations:

Unlike Organ Procurement Organizations, the federal government does not designate Tissue Centers within a region. The processed tissue is considered a medical device and is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the state laws and statutes that govern tissue banking are derived from the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1987 .

The overall responsibilities of the tissue centers include:

• Receiving potential donor referrals from a hospital or Medical Examiner's office/Coroner.
• Evaluating the potential donor.
• Discussing the option of donation with the family.
• Recovery of consented tissues in a sterile environment
• Testing of recovered tissues for transmissible diseases
• Processing of medically released tissue into viable grafts for tissue-related surgeries.
• FDA regulated packaging and storage of tissue
• Monitoring and maintenance of expiration dates of processed grafts
• Distribution of grafts to surgery centers
• Education to the community regarding tissue donations

next page: Identifying and Selecting Tissue Donors