Cardiovascular tissue banking in Europe

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Surgery
• Tissue Banking
• Transplantation Immunology

Background:

• Human cardiovascular tissue allografts (homografts) have been used for 50 years to treat valvular diseases.
• The number of cardiovascular tissue banks and their techniques has increased.
• A survey was conducted to quantify allografts processed and issued by European tissue banks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish the quantity of cardiovascular allografts processed and issued by European tissue banks.
• To collect other relevant statistics regarding cardiovascular tissue banking.

Main Methods:

• Data collected in 2011 from 19 cardiovascular tissue banks across 11 European countries.
• Analysis of data from 2007 to 2010.

Main Results:

• A decrease in received hearts (1700 to 1640) and processing per bank (113 to 91) from 2007-2010.
• An increase in heart valves issued for transplantation (1272 to 1486) from 2007-2010.
• High discard rates: 20.7% for microbiological contamination, 4.2% for positive serology. Significant differences in decontamination methods were observed.

Conclusions:

• Cardiovascular tissue banks are integral to cardiovascular surgery.
• Fluctuating demand for allografts and methodological variations in decontamination present challenges.
• There is a need for improved validation of decontamination methods in tissue banking.