Skin and tissue bank: Operational model for the recovery and preservation of tissues and skin allografts

Abstract Tissue storage is a medical process that is in the regulation and homogenisation phase in the scientific world. The international standards require the need to ensure safety and efficacy of human allografts such as skin and other tissues. The activities of skin and tissues banks currently involve their recovery, processing, storage and distribution, which are positively correlated with technological and scientific advances present in current biomedical sciences. A description is presented of the operational model of Skin and Tissue Bank at Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitacion as successful case for procurement, recovery and preservation of skin and tissues for therapeutic uses, with high safety and biological quality. The essential and standard guidelines are presented as keystones for a tissue recovery programme based on scientific evidence, and within an ethical and legal framework, as well as to propose a model for complete overview of the donation of tissues and organ programmes in Mexico. Finally, it concludes with essential proposals for improving the efficacy of transplantation of organs and tissue programmes.