2023, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (8): 1306-1312

History, current situation and prospect of tissue banks in China

Bai Yulong1, Li Zhonghai2, Zhao Yantao3, Xia Cencan4, Shi Lei1   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Tissue bank receives donated human tissues and organs and performs various corresponding processing, including storage and transportation for the purposes to repair and to reconstruct various clinical tissue defects.
OBJECTIVE: To predict the development of tissue banks in China by sorting out the development history of medical tissue banks and introducing the development status of tissue banks.
METHODS: The first author searched the literature data published up to October 2021 through databases such as CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and PubMed. The search terms were “tissue bank, tissue transplantation, tissue donation, allograft, bone allograft, skin allograft, vascular allograft, organ donation, Red Cross Society of China, regulation, standard” in Chinese and English. The final manuscript was complete based on information inquiry on the official website of the National Medical Drugs Administration of China, as well as access to a professional book, Allogeneic Tissue Transplantation and Tissue Bank, exchange interviews with tissue bank practitioners, and on-the-spot investigations.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Medical tissue banks in China started in the 1950s, and have gone through the development stages of small-scale hospital tissue bank, non-profit tissue bank, and large-scale enterprise tissue bank. In the 1990s, tissue banks with enterprise nature were established in succession, the development and application of allogeneic tissues as materials for tissue repair were gradually improved. Various materials including allogeneic bone, skin, tendon, nerve and other materials have obtained the third-class medical device registration certificate. After entering the 21st century, non-profit tissue banks have emerged. At this time, tissue banks are mainly composed of three types: hospital tissue banks, enterprise nature tissue banks and non-profit tissue banks. With the effective development of the work, the clinical use of tissue materials has also increased yearly, and allogeneic tissue repair materials have become indispensable biomaterials for tissue repair and reconstruction in clinical practice. In 2020, with the “Regulations on Human Organ Transplantation (Draft Amendment)” soliciting opinions from the public and the promulgation and implementation of the “Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China,” the development of tissue banks has ushered in opportunities and challenges. It is believed that under the continuous development of science and technology and humanities, medical tissue banks will have greater development.
Key words: medical tissue bank, tissue transplantation, tissue donation, development history, bone tissue bank, skin bank, history, current situation, prospect