Antimicrobial Strategies in Tissue Allograft Banking

Tissue allograft banking demands rigorous measures to prevent microbial contamination during recovery, processing and storage of donated human tissues. Contaminating organisms can be introduced at multiple points, from donor retrieval to cryopreservation, posing serious risks to recipients. Contemporary practice hinges on minimising bioburden through aseptic recovery techniques, prompt refrigeration of cadavers and controlled-temperature transfers. Following recovery, a two-step decontamination protocol is widely adopted: first immediately after retrieval and again after processing, typically employing cold-incubated antibiotic cocktails to preserve tissue integrity while maximising bactericidal and fungicidal activity. Optimisation of antibiotic combinations, incubation temperatures and durations has been shown to achieve broad-spectrum microbial clearance without compromising tissue structure. Subsequent cryopreservation under ultralow temperatures demands careful removal or neutralisation of residual antibiotics to avoid false-negative sterility testing. Quality assurance measures, including repeated microbiological culture at defined time points, underpin release criteria. Ongoing refinement of antibiotic regimens, integration of molecular detection methods and global harmonisation of standards are driving improvements in allograft safety and availability, with significant implications for transplant outcomes worldwide.

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Antimicrobial Strategies in Tissue Allograft Banking publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in antimicrobial strategies in tissue allograft banking across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Bioburden: The number and types of microorganisms present on or in a tissue prior to decontamination.

Decontamination: A process using chemical or antibiotic treatments to eliminate viable microorganisms from tissues.

Cryopreservation: The storage of biological tissues at ultralow temperatures to maintain viability over extended periods.

Aseptic technique: Procedures that minimise the introduction of contaminants during tissue recovery and processing.

Antibiotic cocktail: A tailored mixture of antimicrobial agents used concurrently to broaden spectrum and prevent resistant strains.

Microbiological culture: Laboratory methods for detecting and identifying microorganisms by growth on selective media under controlled conditions.

References

1. Evaluation of new antibiotic cocktails against contaminating bacteria found in allograft tissues. Cell and Tissue Banking (2016).
2. Tissue recovery practices and bioburden: a systematic review. Cell and Tissue Banking (2016).
3. Residual Antibiotics in Decontaminated Human Cardiovascular Tissues Intended for Transplantation and Risk of Falsely Negative Microbiological Analyses. PLOS ONE (2014).
4. Evaluation of allograft contamination and decontamination at the Treviso Tissue Bank Foundation: A retrospective study of 11,129 tissues. PLOS ONE (2017).
5. Evaluation of allograft decontamination with two different antibiotic cocktails at the Treviso Tissue Bank Foundation. PLOS ONE (2018).
6. Last twenty-years activity of cardiovascular tissue banking in Barcelona. Cell and Tissue Banking (2023).