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Cardiovascular Tissue Banking in the Non-Cadaveric Setting:
Ten-Year Experience of a University Hospital-Based Bank with
Active Organ Donation Program
Carlos-A. Mestres MD, Elba Agusti BSc, Anna Martinez MD, Catiana Cabrer, Marti Manyalich MD, Ramon Cartaña MD, Jose L. Pomar MD The Cardiovascular Tissue Bank (CVTB) of the Hospital Clinico of the University of Barcelona, a non-profit-making organization, has been operational since 1989. During 10 years, 840 hearts have been accepted from multi-organ donors, from which 1,099 valves have been cryopreserved and 1,023 accepted for clinical implantation. The rejection rate was 39.1%. A total of 608 valves have been implanted in four valve positions. Only two reports of complaint from implanting surgeons have been received. Quality control has been very strict, and this has permitted the production of high-quality homografts for clinical implantation. |
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