Physical examination of the potential tissue donor, what does literature tell us?

European Tissue Banks should carry out a physical examination as a part of the donor selection procedure. This is one of the obligations concerning donation and procurement mentioned in the European Commission directives on tissue banking. As the directives do not give any further specification on the content or on the procedure of the physical examination, a search of literature was done in order to find more information. Although data in literature generally remain quite vague, it was possible to set up a list of items which should be looked at during physical examination. This list can be used temporarily until further information is gathered from an international survey and from a risk assessment analysis.