Bone banking: current methods and suggested guidelines.

There is considerable evidence to support the clinical usefulness of preserved osteochondral allografts in reconstructive orthopaedic surgery. Responsible methods for banking these tissues are required to provide biologically useful and predictable grafts that are free of potentially significant pathogenic agents or transmissible disease. Although much remains unknown concerning the biology, immunology, and biomechanics of fresh and preserved osteochondral allografts and undoubtedly the best method or methods for banking these tissues have not been identified, the approach outlined here (and in the AATB Guidelines) reflects our interpretation of the present state of the art. We fully recognize the possibility that alternative approaches may meet special needs of other investigators and, in fact, expect our approach to change as additional knowledge becomes available and as clinical applications expand.