Tissue banking

In the United States, organ and tissue procurement has been organized in such a way so as to maximize availability in an efficient fashion that is fair to both donor and recipient. There is a growing cooperation between organ procurement organizations (OPOs) and tissue recovery organizations to facilitate meeting the requirements of both organ and tissue procurement. Successful tissue preservation has encouraged the use of bone and soft tissue grafts, cardiovascular tissue, and skin in the clinical setting. Semen cryobanking has been practiced for many years, and the demand for embryo banking services has greatly increased recently as assisted reproductive procedures have become more diverse and much more widely available. As technology in this area continues to improve, hospital transfusion services may play an increasingly important role in coordinating, supporting, and directing transplantation and transplant-related interventions.