Infected Tissue Transplant

Infected Tissue Transplant: "Recent reports say the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched an investigation of certain human tissue that may not have been properly screened for certain infectious diseases. The donors of the infected tissue may not have met FDA donor eligibility requirements and may have been transplanted in patients from early 2004 to September 2005.

The infected human tissue was recovered by Biomedical Tissue Services, Ltd. (BTS) of Ft. Lee, NJ, and forwarded to tissue processors for transplant. Tissue processors receiving infected tissue include: LifeCell Corporation of Branchburg, NJ; Lost Mountain Tissue Bank of Kennesaw, GA; Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas in Austin, TX; Tutogen Medical, Inc., of Alachua, FL; Regeneration Technologies, Inc., of Alachua, FL.

The FDA reports these tissue processor firms have voluntarily recalled all unused tissue and notified the implanting physicians of the problem. Physicians who used the transplant tissue directly from BTS also have been contacted."