[Bone banks : The state-of-the-art]

Bone banks are responsible for the collection, production, testing, packaging, storage and delivery of osseous grafts. In compliance with legal and quality requirements, it is their main task to ensure the biological properties and the microbiological safety of the transplants as well. German legal requirements for bone banking are explained and current standards with respect to donor selection, laboratory tests and tissue processing, as well as labeling are discussed. Production and preparation procedures should include a validated microbiological inactivation method that largely preserves the biological properties of the tissue.