[Bone bank at University Department of Orthopedic Surgery in Lovran, Croatia].

AIM: At University Department of Orthopedic Surgery in Lovran, bone bank was established in 1985 for preserving and storage of musculoskeletal tissue. At first, storage was only done for femoral heads as surgical residues of hip replacement. Since 1993, storage is also done for transplants obtained by retrieving bone allografts from cadavers during multiorgan explantations. METHODS: Transplant donors are chosen on the basis of medical history, physical examination and laboratory analysis of blood samples. Transplants are kept at the bone bank, by deep freeze method, at temperature of -80 degrees C. RESULTS: During the 2002-2006 period, bone bank delivered a total of 729 bone allografts, which were succesfully used in surgical treatment. CONCLUSION: Good results of the surgeries using bone allografts stimulated us for further development of bone banking.