Cell and tissue banking
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Nearly 10 years ago, the tissue industry's informed consent practices with donor families in the United States were criticized. In response, the industry, along with the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, suggested elements to be included in the informed consent process. ⋯ Others, such as labeling tissue as a gift from donor families, never were. The authors conclude that the time is ripe for reexamination of the informed consent process with an eye to meaningful consent that promotes the benefits of tissue transplantation and at the same time protects the rights and interests of donor families; can be realistically implemented; and, maintains the trust of the American public.
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Cell and tissue banking · Sep 2008
ReviewStandard Operating Procedures, ethical and legal regulations in BTB (Brain/Tissue/Bio) banking: what is still missing?
The use of human biological specimens in scientific research is the focus of current international public and professional concern and a major issue in bioethics in general. Brain/Tissue/Bio banks (BTB-banks) are a rapid developing sector; each of these banks acts locally as a steering unit for the establishment of the local Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the legal regulations and ethical guidelines to be followed in the procurement and dissemination of research specimens. An appropriat Code of Conduct is crucial to a successful operation of the banks and the research application they handle. ⋯ Taking into consideration the huge variety of the specimens stored in different repositories and the enormous differences in medico-legal systems and ethics regulations in different countries it is strongly recommend that the health-care systems and institutions who host BTB-Banks will put more efforts in getting adequate funding for the infrastructure and daily activities. The BTB-banks should define evaluation protocols, SOPs and their Code of Conduct. This in turn will enable the banks to share the collected specimens and data with the largest possible number of researchers and aim at a maximal scientific spin-off and advance in public health research.
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Cell and tissue banking · Jun 2008
ReviewStandard Operating Procedures, ethical and legal regulations in BTB (Brain/Tissue/Bio) banking: what is still missing?
The use of human biological specimens in scientific research is the focus of current international public and professional concern and a major issue in bioethics in general. Brain/Tissue/Bio banks (BTB-banks) are a rapid developing sector; each of these banks acts locally as a steering unit for the establishment of the local Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the legal regulations and ethical guidelines to be followed in the procurement and dissemination of research specimens. An appropriat Code of Conduct is crucial to a successful operation of the banks and the research application they handle. ⋯ Taking into consideration the huge variety of the specimens stored in different repositories and the enormous differences in medico-legal systems and ethics regulations in different countries it is strongly recommend that the health-care systems and institutions who host BTB-Banks will put more efforts in getting adequate funding for the infrastructure and daily activities. The BTB-banks should define evaluation protocols, SOPs and their Code of Conduct. This in turn will enable the banks to share the collected specimens and data with the largest possible number of researchers and aim at a maximal scientific spin-off and advance in public health research.
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Cell and tissue banking · Jan 2004
Applied tissue engineering in the closure of severe burns and chronic wounds using cultured human autologous keratinocytes in a natural fibrin matrix.
Whereas in severe burns cultured human epithelial cells may well serve as a life saving method, the true value of tissue-engineered skin products in chronic wound care has yet to be clearly defined. Among other well-known clinical problems, the engraftment rate of commercially available multilayered "sheet grafts" has been shown to vary extremely. Adherence of transplanted cells to the wound bed--especially in the presence of potential wound contamination-- is one of the crucial aspects of this technique. ⋯ When transferring this technique into the treatment of chronic wounds we found an optimal preparation of such recipient wound beds to be crucial to the success. The additional application of continuous negative pressure (vacuum therapy) and preliminary chip skin grafting to optimally prepare the recipient site may be helpful tools to achieve such well-prepared and graftable surfaces. Prospective controlled comparative studies should be designed to further assess the clinical efficacy of this technique.