[Bone banks. Equipment, tissue collection, cold preservation, organization, safety]

A well-organized bone bank for cryoconservation is a proven and safe procedure, which is best suitable for emergency surgery. If the indication is correct and donor selection carefully proved, it is an efficient procedure without great problems. For donor selection, the history of the patient, a clinical examination and serological tests are very important, in addition to an aseptic procurement and continuous maintenance of temperature in the freezer. The freezer temperature must be kept below the eutectic point of bone (-28 degrees C). At this temperature all of the individual bone tissue structures are frozen, and bone can be preserved for 1 year in this way. We prefer a cryoconservation at -39/49 degrees C. In the Department of Traumatology of the University in Freiburg, in the last 16 years more than 1000 homologous bone grafts have been performed. Although in the first weeks consolidation is delayed, the rate of complications after bone transplantations is low. The great advantage is the availability of homologous (allogenous) cancellous bone and cortical bone chips at any time, especially for the treatment of polytraumatized patients.