Human bone and tissue allografts. Preparation and safety.

Currently, modern tissue banks routinely supply requested bone and soft-tissue allografts. These allografts are safe if tissue-bank personnel adhere to the existing methodology for excluding any donors with potential for disease transmission. The authors' discard rate after excision of tissues has been approximately 18%, reflecting their concern for allograft safety. The preparation of significant numbers of allografts is labor intensive and very expensive, as is multiphasic screening of donors. However, long-term success with a large number of bone or soft-tissue recipient patients has led physicians and patients to have confidence in the safety of allografts prepared as described.