Information for Healthcare Providers

Generic Policy and Procedure for Tissue Donation at Designated Facilities

Scope of Services:

TBM is a full service tissue bank providing services such as education, referral, recovery, processing, storage, distribution, ordering and standards.

Education

• Education about the tissue donation process and the use of tissue allografts is provided to healthcare providers.

• Education about the option of tissue donation is provided to the general public.

Referral

• TBM receives referrals of potential tissue donors from all facilities within the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and other Regional Health Authorities in Manitoba, 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week.

• The referral process now must comply with the new Human Tissue Gift Act of Manitoba and the Notification Requirements/Exemptions Pursuant to Section 4.2 of the Human Tissue Gift Act. This means that all deaths must be reported to us through Tissue Donor Services at 1-866-DONORS-8 within 1 hour of the death.
  

Recovery

• A team of certified procurement staff perform tissue recoveries, usually in an operating room of the referring facility, using procedures and techniques similar to those used in regular surgical operations.

Processing
Recovered tissue undergoes significant processing after recovery to increase the benefit to recipients and to help make the gift touch many more lives.

Some processing takes place at Tissue Bank Manitoba but most takes place at larger processing facilities, which in turn make specialty tissue products available to local surgeons.

Tissue is processed and preserved under strict aseptic conditions using a variety of techniques. Prepared allograft tissue can be frozen, lyophilized(freeze dried), or cryopreserved, depending on the tissue and it's intended use.

Tissue is packaged in different manners from peel pouches to sealed sterile jars and all packages are designed to ensure sterility of the tissue when presented into the operating field in the operating room.

Storage
Recovered tissue is stored under quarantine at the tissue bank until all serology and culture testing, and other reports are compiled and reviewed prior to processing.

Processed tissue is stored in -150ºC freezers (for cryopreserved tissue), -80ºC freezers (for frozen tissue), and on regular storage shelves (for lyophilized tissue).

Tissue can be stored for up to five years before being transplanted depending on the processing and preservation method used.

Distribution
Tissue Bank Manitoba distributes tissue allografts wherever they are needed in order to fulfill a family's direction.

Tissue Bank Manitoba distributes bone allografts to surgeons in the orthopedic, plastic, and neuro surgery programs within the WRHA and also provides all the allograft skin for the local burn unit.

Tissue allograft ordering and distribution is a 24 hour-a-day, 7 day-a-week operation.

Ordering
Tissue Bank Manitoba maintains a stock of commonly used orthopedic bone allografts, including but not limited to:

• Crushed Cancellous

• Distal Femurs

• Femoral Shafts

• Proximal Tibia

• Cortical Struts

• Femoral Heads

• Fibula Segments

• Tri Cortical Wedges

However, for specialty allografts such as costal cartilage, osteochondral grafts, heart valves and other cardiac and vascular allografts, we require a minimum of 1 weeks notice.

To order please call (204) 940-1750, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or fax to (204) 940-1751. Our regular office hours are from 0700-1800, Monday through Friday.

Standards

Tissue banking activities are regulated by Health Canada, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Associations of Tissue Banks (AATB).

All activities of Tissue Bank Manitoba are performed under strict adherence to the standards of AATB, Health Canada and the FDA through a comprehensive Quality Management Program.

Tissue Bank Manitoba is the first Canadian tissue bank to be registered with the FDA and we are currently actively seeking accreditation from the AATB.