Can allograft tissues transmit infections?
There have been rare instances where allograft tissues have transmitted infections to recipients. In most instances the infection was present in the donor at the time of death but was not detected. In some cases, tissues have been contaminated during removal, transport, processing, or storage. It is important to note that many of these instances have been investigated carefully and resulted in improvements to methods for screening and testing donors for infections, for processing to prevent contamination, and for removing or inactivating organisms that may be present in allografts. The Donor Eligibility rule requires up-to-date and appropriate donor screening and testing. The Current Good Tissue Practices rule requires methods be put in place to reduce risks during the production of the tissues.
