Cellular survival of human marrow during placement of marrow-cancellous bone grafts

The survival of human marrow cells during the placement of marrow-cancellous bone grafts was studied by three independent viability assays. Marrow cells are resistant cells able to survive the surgical harvest from the ilium. Salt solutions such as normal saline solution and 5% dextrose in water (D5W) were superior to tissue culture medium, the serum of the patients, and several other solutions in supporting the survival of the graft cells. High survival rates of marrow cells stored in normal saline solution and D5W for four hours or less established that 95% to 100% live cells can be transplanted even with long delays between harvest and placement of the graft.