“The Perth Bone and Tissue Bank is one of the premier facilities supplying human tissue in the World. It supplies the highest quality bone and soft tissue material to Western Australia, Australia and neighbouring countries to allow the reconstruction of tissue defects that would otherwise be very difficult to manage. Personally I rely on their graft for many of my joint reconstructions where large bony defects need addressing. Furthermore the bone graft is prepared in a very user friendly way making this difficult surgery more efficient and timely.”
Piers Yates MBBS(Hons) BSc(Hons) MRCS FRCS(Tr & Orth) Associate Professor, Fremantle Hospital & University of Western Australia
Head of Department Fremantle Hospital
The Perth Bone & Tissue Bank (PBTB) is an independent, incorporated, not-for-profit organisation which is located in leased premises, on the Hollywood Private Hospital Campus in Nedlands, Western Australia.
Our object is to provide high class donated musculoskeletal tissue grafts to surgeons, to enable patient treatment for a wide range of surgical problems. Our priority is to service demand for musculoskeletal tissue in Western Australia; however we also distribute graft material to other Australian states to support demand, and in some instances to New Zealand and South East Asia. Export approval is obtained from the Commonwealth for any overseas distribution.
DONOR PROGRAMS
PBTB has two donor programs.
Femoral Head Donor Program:
Patients undergoing primary hip replacement can donate the femoral head for transplantation, and most donated femoral heads are morsellised (milled) and irradiated before use.
Prior to 2005, femoral head donors were consented by a variety of hospital personnel including orthopaedic surgeons, hospital doctors and delegated registered nurses. Consent was obtained on admission which proved inconvenient for hospital personnel, increased the stress levels of potential donors due to insufficient time for consideration and was costly of time and money to the Perth Bone & Tissue Bank by the retrieval of unsuitable bone.
Donor Liaison Officers work closely with referral sources (surgeons rooms and preadmission clinics) as well as peri operative personnel. The simple referral method means minimal time is spent by referral sources notifying Donor Liaison Officers of potential donors. All necessary sterile consumables are provided to the operating suites and in-service is regularly conducted on how to correctly retrieve bone. Additionally, Donor Liaison Officers are available at any time to advise peri operative staff should they require assistance during the bone recovery process.
Recent statistics indicate a significant increase in the number of potential donors and ultimately the number of femoral heads available for transplantation. Most importantly, post donation survey results demonstrate that donor satisfaction has significantly improved since the introduction of the role of Donor Liaison Officers.
If you would like to be refer your primary hip replacement patients to our Donor Liaison staff, click Referral for Potential Femoral Head Donation.
Cadaveric Donor Program:
Cadaveric musculoskeletal tissue is retrieved from deceased persons with the consent of the next of kin. DonateLife Donor Coordinators identify potential cadaveric donors, then liaise with Tissue Banks to discuss the circumstances of the death, the medical and social history of the deceased, and then make an assessment of donor suitability. Where a suitable donor is identified, the Donor Coordinator then approaches the family of the deceased to discuss donation, and to seek consent.
In most instances, cadaveric musculoskeletal tissue is retrieved in the mortuary setting. If the deceased is also donating organs, cadaveric musculoskeletal retrieval will be conducted in the Operating Room following removal of the solid organs.
The most common cadaveric musculoskeletal tissue retrieved by PBTB includes bilateral femora and tibiae, and a variety of soft tissue such as achilles tendons, hamstrings, and extensor and flexor digitorum longus. Humerii and hemipelves are retrieved on a replacement basis.
PROCESSING
PBTB operates a C Class clean room within our facility which is located on the Hollywood Private Hospital Campus in Nedlands.
PBTB has a wide range of tissue grafts available. Contact us to obtain a product brochure.
The object of processing donated tissue is to:
- Reduce the bioburden,
- Produce grafts which are useful to surgeons,
- Save preparation time in the operating theatre thereby reducing anaesthetic time, and
- Maximize the yield avoiding wastage of this precious resource.
Our processing methods involve a number of steps involving washing and machining the tissue to produce grafts which are use specific. Constant monitoring of the clean room environment and sampling of tissue throughout the process enables us to provide assurance that the tissue we produce is of a high standard.
All processed graft is irradiated at ANSTO in New South Wales before distribution. Currently bone graft is irradiated at 25 kGy minimum dose, and soft tissues at 15 kGy. However, we will soon commence irradiation at the lower validated dose of 15 kGy for all grafts.
Detailed information about our range of tissue products is available here.
GRAFT ORDERING AND DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION
Our Technicians are available 24/7 to assist surgeons and hospital staff with enquiries regarding ordering and distribution of our grafts. Contact us here.
PBTB requires Medical Staff to obtain the patient’s written consent on our Form E Standard Recipient Consent.
The relevant procedure for ordering graft for the following regional areas are listed on Ordering, Distribution and Storage Procedures page.
- Perth Metropolitan area
- Regional Western Australia
- Australian States other than Western Australia
- Overseas
FUNDING
As a not-for-profit organisation, PBTB is classified as a Deductible Gift Recipient and as such, financial donations to PBTB are tax deductible.
PBTB operates on a cost recovery basis via the health funds through listing of our graft products on the Medical Benefit Schedule. Grafts are classified as prostheses and as such are listed in the Human Tissue Appendix to the Medical Benefit Schedule.
An invoice in the patient’s name is sent to the implanting hospital to recover the graft fee. There is no gap, and the fees are fully recoverable. Patients do not receive an invoice unless they are uninsured, and have chosen to have their surgery in a private hospital.
Graft fees incorporate the costs associated with the retrieval, testing, processing storage and distribution of graft material. Tissue Banks are required to supply financial data to the Private Health Insurance Branch of the Commonwealth Department of Health & Ageing, to support any request to adjust a listed graft fee.
We also have a group of volunteers who fundraise for the purchase of new equipment and to support our research projects. Click here to visit information about our Friends.