Screening & Testing

All of our policies and procedures for donor screening, testing and recovery are established and approved by MTF’s Medical Board of Trustees to ensure the quality and safety of the allograft tissues. This Board is composed of physicians from our member institutions and authorities in the field.

The policies and procedures are reviewed and evaluated on an ongoing basis to maintain current and comprehensive protocols and meet all regulations and guidelines established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the American Association of Tissue Banks and other state and local agencies.

Donor Screening

All potential donors must pass through a comprehensive screening and testing process. MTF uses registered nurses to screen potential donors, all of whom must pass a thorough quality assurance process. Our Vice President of Technical Operations then reviews medical charts, and consults our Medical Director, who determines donor suitability.

As part of the screening, comprehensive medical and social histories are required for every donor. Our standards for donor eligibility are established by a medical board of surgeons, who developed the standardized age criteria (female age 12-70; male 12-70) that allows for the selection of tissues with dense, strong cancellous constructs more commonly found in that range. The soft tissue age criteria was determined based on the clinical research of the mechanical integrity of tissue through a range of ages.

Tissue Testing

All tissue and blood samples are tested for infectious diseases, including testing for AIDS with Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT by TMA)— the newest and most reliable test to confirm the presence or absence of HIV and HCV early following exposure. Our comprehensive battery of testing also includes: HIV-1, HIV-2, HTLV-I, HTLV-II, HB Core, RPR, HCV-Ab, HBs Ag, HIV-1 NAT, HCV-NAT.

As an accredited member of the AATB, all of our testing and processing of donated tissue meet or exceed all AATB standards and FDA regulations, and we maintain an unrivaled safety record. All test results are evaluated by a team of specialists and physicians from the infectious disease, pathology and tissue banking fields.

Read about the MTF Process for more information.