Simple novel bone bank storage: the Singapore General Hospital experience.
BACKGROUND
Since 1981, the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) bone bank has proven to be a safe, reliable, and economical source of bone allografts. Femoral heads are used exclusively and are procured from patients undergoing hip arthroplasty. Screening for HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C is carried out prior to surgery. Patients with ongoing infection and past history of malignancy are excluded. The bone graft procured is washed and autoclaved to 134°C for 3 minutes. It is then stored in saline solution containing penicillin and streptomycin at -80°C. Based on our experience, such a system can be readily duplicated in developing nations with minimal cost and equipment. This article presents our experience in the procurement and storage of femoral head allografts with clinical results to support the safety profile.


METHODS
Ten femoral heads were harvested from patients who underwent hip arthroplasty. The femoral heads were autoclaved and stored at -80°C in an antibiotic solution. Bone chips were sent for culture immediately after autoclaving and at 3 and 6 months.


RESULTS
All specimens passed the initial sterility testing and remained sterile up to 6 months. A retrospective study of 9 patients who had 13 allografts implanted between 2008 and 2010 showed that none of the recipients acquired an infection or transmissible disease due to the allografts.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that our protocol allows for procurement of femoral head allografts with minimal contamination and that they can maintain sterility for up to 6 months. This finding is further supported by our clinical results. Hence, this protocol will be useful for bone banks in developing nations where sterility conditions are suboptimal and cost is an issue.
Singapore General Hospital , Singapore .
Chay-You
CY
Ang
Danny Shi-Theng
DS
Loh
Hoe-Wai
HW
Chaw
Pak-Lin
PL
Chin
D018586:Bone Banks / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards*; D005270:Femur Head / Q000382:microbiology / Q000637:transplantation*; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D009926:Organ Preservation / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012846:Singapore; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting
D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions