Donor Criteria

All policies and procedures for donor screening, testing and recovery are established and approved by the Medical Board of Trustees of the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation. This Board is composed of physicians from the member institutions of the Foundation and experts in this field. These standards are continually reviewed to maintain current and comprehensive protocols. This globally standardized approach to donor recovery procedures has contributed to the quality and safety record of  the allograft tissue available from the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation.

Age Criteria: Bone

Male donors: 12-70
Female donors: 12-70

Upon special request, donors can be recovered down to age five. The lower age limit is chosen to limit the collection of grafts with open epiphyses. Bone from younger donors with open plates cannot be processed for large, weight-bearing intercalary grafts. The upper age limits for male and female donors were chosen also to maximize the weight bearing potential of these grafts in consideration of the standard integrity of the grafts. A small percentage of donors fall in the range between 61 to 70. The tissues are used principally for morselized grafts that serve as defect fillers.

Age Criteria: Soft Tissue

Soft tissue is defined as tendons, ligaments, cartilage, pericardium or tissues other than bone. The following age criteria are used for recovery of these soft tissues:

Patellar Tendon, Achilles Tendon, Fascia Lata (Weight Bearing) All donors, 15-65, prior to 66th year.

Pericardium, Meniscal Cartilage and Other Soft Tissues No specific age requirements have been determined. These tissues will be recovered only upon request by the Foundation for specific applications.

Medical/Social History

Potential donors with a history of any of the following conditions are excluded from donation:

• AIDS/AIDS Related Complex (ARC)
• High risk for AIDS as defined by U.S. Public Health Services
• Hepatitus B or C, or unexplained jaundice
• Intravenous drug use
• Malignancy except basal cell carcinoma and carcinoma in-situ of the cervix
• Infectious disease such as tuberculosis, leprosy, rabies, malaria, syphilis,
   septicemia or long-term bacterial or fungal infections
• Slow viral diseases such as Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease (CJD)
• Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, myasthenia, gravis, lupus
• Neurological and/or demyelinating diseases such as amytrophic lateral sclerosis,
   multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy
• Dementia, including senile dementia, cerebral arteriosclerosis, Alzheimer’s
   disease
• Disease of bone and connective tissue
• Disease of unknown etiology
• Travel to malaria areas within past one year without prophylaxis
• Exposure to toxic chemicals/metals such as lead, mercury, Agent Orange, with
   symptoms
• Use of human derived pituitary growth hormone
• Recent (within four weeks) immunization against measles, rubella, mumps, polio
   or yellow fever

Current Medical Status

Potential donors with any of the following existing medical conditions are excluded from donation:

• Positive tests for infectious diseases: Anti-HIV 1-2, HTLV-I, HTLV-II Ab, HBsAg,
   HCV Ab, confirmed Syphilis, Anti HBc, HIV NAT, HCV NAT.
• Active infection such as meningitis, encephalitis, tuberculosis, typhus, measles,
   mumps, rubella, chicken pox, herpes, pneumonia and/or other viral/fungal/bacterial
   diseases
• Active unexplained immune system disorders
• Active systemic infections
• Clinical manifestations of significant bacterial or viral infection such as elevated
   WBC except where related to trauma, high fever unexplained by CNS injury,
   septic IV site, septic decubiti, open skin lesions, unexplained purulent wounds

Transfusions

All infectious disease testing results are obtained from pretransfusion specimens, when available. Prior to the recovery of tissues, a blood sample is obtained for infectious disease testing. MTF employs a standard algorithm to determine the extent of hemodilution and its effects on serological results.

The donor criteria listed above is selected from the comprehensive MTF screening criteria. For more specific information regarding donor suitability, contact your local MTF Allograft Consultant.