Operational and financial aspects of a hospital bone bank

Although bone banks have existed for many years, the elements of organizing and maintaining a hospital bone bank have not been well documented. The experience with a bone bank at the Massachusetts General Hospital between 1971 and 1980 provides a model on which to base an explanation and discussion of methods of procurement, storage, and retrieval, and the costs associated with such a facility. In 1979, the procurement rate averaged one donor per month; during that year a total of ninety-one bones were stored and six different surgeons utilized more than twenty allografts from the bank. During the same year, the approximate cost of maintaining the bank was more than $50,000. On the basis of the number of bones used, the cost averaged more than $2000 per implant. Such a hospital facility offers the benefits of quality control of the banked bone but is expensive and may not be feasible for many hospitals.