title: Operational and financial aspects of a hospital bone bank.
abstract: Although bone banks have existed for many years, the elements of organizing and maintaining a hospital bone bank have not been well documented. The experience with a bone bank at the Massachusetts General Hospital between 1971 and 1980 provides a model on which to base an explanation and discussion of methods of procurement, storage, and retrieval, and the costs associated with such a facility. In 1979, the procurement rate averaged one donor per month; during that year a total of ninety-one bones were stored and six different surgeons utilized more than twenty allografts from the bank. During the same year, the approximate cost of maintaining the bank was more than $50,000. On the basis of the number of bones used, the cost averaged more than $2000 per implant. Such a hospital facility offers the benefits of quality control of the banked bone but is expensive and may not be feasible for many hospitals.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001842:Bone and Bones; D001900:Boston; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006753:Hospital Records; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D011786:Quality Control; D014015:Tissue Banks / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014021:Tissue Preservation