Izabela Uhrynowska-Tyszkiewicz

Sterilisation by Irradiation

Sterilisation refers to any process that eliminates/inactivates transmissible infectious agents (pathogens) containing nucleic acids e.g. vegetative and spore forms of bacteria and fungi, parasites, viruses etc. There are two main types of sterilisation distinguishing by the characteristics of sterilisation agent used, namely physical and chemical sterilisation [3, 19].

Knowledge and opinions about tissue donation and transplantation among Polish students and physicians

The idea of transplantation seems to be commonly identified by lay and professional people only with transplantation of vascularized organs like kidney or heart. The question arises whether there is any awareness of tissue transplantation among the public. A survey was therefore undertaken to assess awareness of and approaches to tissue donation and transplantation among selected social groups. A questionnaire on donation and transplantation issues was administered to respondents from the following groups: secondary school students, non-medical university students, medical university students, physicians. On the whole, 441 non-randomly sampled respondents were surveyed. The awareness of tissue transplantation is narrower than the awareness of organ transplantation. The support for tissue transplantation is weaker than for organ transplantation. This study shows that there is an acute need for education in the legal aspects of transplantation and that ways of motivating healthcare professionals to promote transplantation should be developed.

Tissue banking training courses: Polish experience.

Personnel directly involved in the donation, procurement, testing, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of human tissues and cells should be appropriately qualified and provided with timely and relevant training according to EU directives. In the time of new tissue and cells regulations implementation such a training system existed in Poland only at a local level. The first training programme outlines for various groups of health professionals engaged in tissue banking practice was created in co-operation with the Institute for LifeLong Learning at University of Barcelona in 2006. This initial training courses were financially supported by EU Transition Facility Programme 2004. Then, starting from 2006, based on previous experience, system of advanced training courses was created. This training programme was financially supported by the National Programme for the Development of Transplantation Medicine 2006–2009—POLGRAFT financed by Polish Ministry of Health. During 2006 and 2007 first set of tissue banking initial training courses were provided according to TF 2004 project. Over 200 pathologists, forensic medicine specialists and other medical doctors responsible for donor screening and classification, medical directors of tissue establishments, technical staff; tissue graft users: orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, cardiosurgeons and ophthalmologists were trained. Between 2006 and 2009 there were organized 8 advanced tissue banking training courses according to POLGRAFT programme. There were organized both theoretical and practical courses on various aspects of tissue for over 350 persons. We present our experience in organisation of international and national tissue banking training courses.

Autologous Osteoblast Transplantation, an Innovative Method of Bone Defect Treatment: Role of a Tissue and Cell Bank in the Process

BACKGROUND The idea of cell treatment of various diseases and medical conditions has become very popular. Some procedures are well established, as is autologous chondrocyte implantation, whereas others are still in the process of early development, laboratory experiments, and some clinical trials. METHODS This report is devoted to an example of an emerging cell treatment: bone augmentation with the use of autologous cells and its legal and technical background. Various requirements set by law must be met by tissue banks performing cell seeding of grafts. In Europe, the requirements are described in directives 2004/23/EC, 2006/17/EC, 2006/86/EC, and in the regulation 2007/1394/EC. RESULTS Revitalization of biostatic allografts gives new, promising tools for creation of functional parts of organs; brings the methodology used in tissue banks closer to tissue engineering; places the enterprise in the mainstream of advanced biotechnology; allows the full potential of tissue allografts; and opens a new, large area for clinical and laboratory research. Cell and tissue processing also have a financial impact on the treatment: it produces additional expenditures. CONCLUSIONS Clinical effectiveness will be the most decisive factor of whether this innovative treatment will be applied in a particular type of medical condition. From a tissue establishment perspective, the most important issue is to develop a procedure that ensures safety for the patient in graft quality terms.

THE EFFECT OF PRESERVATION PROCEDURES AND RADIATION STERILISATION CONDITIONS ON CONNECTIVE TISSUE GRAFTS AND THEIR CONSTITUENTS

ABSTRACT The Central Tissue Bank, established in 1963, and two other multi-tissue banks operating in Poland provide connective tissue allografts such as bone, cartilage, tendons, sclera, skin, acellular dermis and amnion. All grafts are radiation sterilised with a dose of 35 kGy in a 60Co source and/or with electron beam 10 MeV accelerator. Over 250,000 radiation-sterilised tissue grafts have been prepared and used in hospital departments throughout Poland and not one case of infectious disease transmission has been reported to date. High doses of ionising radiation can evoke numerous chemical and physical changes that may affect biological quality of tissue allografts, such as osteoinductive potential of bone, the mechanical properties of bone and other connective tissue grafts as well as the rate of their resorption in vivo. The origin and stability of free radicals and other paramagnetic entities radiation-induced in bone will be discussed. The effect of various preservation procedures (e.g. lyophilisation, deep-freezing) and radiation sterilisation conditions (doses, temperature of irradiation) on osteoinductive potential of bone as well as on degradation of collagen, a major constituent of connective tissue grafts, will be presented. The results of interdisciplinary research performed at the Central Tissue Bank in Warsaw, in collaboration with radiation chemists from the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology indicate, that radiation-induced changes can be diminished by modification of tissue preservation methods and that, to some extent it is possible to reduce undesired radiation-induced damage to the tissue grafts.