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Updated: Jun 12, 2026
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Isolation of Human Primary Valve Cells for In vitro Disease Modeling
Published on: April 16, 2021
Quality control in homograft valve processing: when to screen for microbiological contamination?
Alan Soo1, David G Healy, Hatim El-Bashier
1Prof Eoin O'Malley National Centre for Cardiothoracic Surgery, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Eccles Street, Dublin 7, Ireland.
Cell and Tissue Banking
|May 22, 2010
Summary
Human heart valve donations are scarce. This study found a high discard rate (29.6%) due to initial microbiology screening, but a low contamination rate (0.9%) at implantation, balancing safety and availability.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Transplantation Immunology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Human donor heart valves are crucial for reconstructive cardiac procedures but are a limited resource.
- Infection transmission is a risk with homograft valves, necessitating rigorous screening and processing.
- Early practices involved antibiotic immersion, with varying reliance on post-treatment microbiology screening.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the Irish Heart Valve Tissue Bank's valve discard rate and implant contamination rate with other centers.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of pre-immersion microbiology screening in ensuring homograft valve safety.
- To assess the balance between resource optimization and patient safety in heart valve banking.
Main Methods:
- Collected and processed 564 human heart valves and conduits through a partnership between the National Centre for Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Irish Blood Transfusion Service.
- Implemented microbiology screening at both tissue collection and pre-implantation stages.
- Compared discard rates and contamination findings with published data from other international centers.
Main Results:
- A total of 167 (29.6%) valves were discarded during processing and storage.
- The primary reason for discard was unsatisfactory initial microbiology screening (117 cases).
- Repeat screening of accepted valves at implantation showed a low positive culture rate of 0.9%, significantly lower than the 3% reported elsewhere.
Conclusions:
- The Irish Heart Valve Tissue Bank's higher discard rate (29.6%) compared to other centers (5.6-10%) reflects stringent quality control measures.
- Despite the high discard rate, the low implant contamination rate (0.9%) demonstrates the effectiveness of the bank's safety protocols.
- The current protocol achieves an optimal balance between maximizing the availability of scarce heart valve resources and ensuring paramount patient safety.
