Living donor bone bank: Costa Rican experience

All relevant information was gathered to provide a brief overview of the establishment of a Bone Bank in Costa Rica. First, legal issues were taken into consideration; followed by the definition of the donor exclusion criteria according to international standards. Potential donors were defined as all patients undergoing hip or knee replacement surgeries. In order to select the right donors, blood samples from all potential donors were tested for transmittable diseases. Bone tissues were obtained in the operating room to be processed later, under strict standardized conditions. Once the tissues were processed, allografts were stored at -80C until the transplantat procedures were carried out.