Frequently Asked Questions

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A bone bank works just like a blood bank. It procures, processes and  preserves donated bones for  transplantation. 

For patients  undergoing replacement surgery, the arthritic joint parts which are to be replaced can be donated to a bone bank. These joint parts are otherwise discarded.  

In certain rare situations, where a person is about to lose their limb due to various conditions, the long bones from their amputated limb can be donated. Bone removed during such surgery and processed by a tissue bank, can be used as bone grafts for reconstruction of bony defects in different parts of the body, or to help fractures join. Sometimes they can even help prevent amputations.

Patients free from any transmissible disease can donate their bones. Routine blood investigation are needed, which are regularly done at the time of surgery.

There are no expenses involved during bone donation. This is a 

noble cause similar to blood donation. Patients will get the satisfaction of helping another needy person with their bones which would otherwise have been discarded as bio-medical waste.

 Step 1: Retrieval

Tissues are retrieved from the donors by specially trained medical professionals to ensure the quality of the tissues.

Step 2: Processing

The tissues are processed at the locally set up processing facility to preserve the biological and biomechanical properties of tissues throughout the processing cycle.

The tissues are processed to reduce their immunogenicity and maintain biologic safety to prevent disease transmission.

Step 3: Storage

Once the tissues are fully processed, they are packaged and sterilized by gamma radiation. 

The packaged tissues are stored in controlled environments until they are dispatched.

Every death is an opportunity for a potential tissue 

donation.

Firstly, Next of kin of the deceased donor needs to contact the bone bank soon after death. The bone bank will retrieve the 

tissues in a safe and respectful manner, and reconstruct the donor body. Lastly, The family of the deceased donor can proceed with the normal funeral arrangements, be it burial or 

cremation

Tissues such as bone, cartilage, tendons, fascia lata (the thin covering of the muscles), heart valves, blood vessels, skin, nerves, amnion and adipose tissue can be banked