Bone and Tissue Bank

At RJAH, we provide a Bone and Tissue Bank Service, as part of the Theatres Department. The service is governed by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) and the Human Tissue Act (2004), particularly in terms of consent and storage.

We also stock supplied tissues, for example, meniscus and tendons which are used by the Sports Injury Team, among others. We are one of a few hospitals in the UK that are involved with Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI), which is the process of taking cells from a healthy part of the knee, growing them in a laboratory and inserting into the damaged area of the knee to encourage growth of healthy tissue. This then delays or removes the need for more extensive surgery, such as joint replacement. You can find out more about ACI here.

The service is led by a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and managed by specialist theatre staff.

Donate your hip bone

There is an opportunity for those who are having a total hip replacement to donate their femoral head (hip bone) as opposed to it being simply incinerated. The bone is held for up to 5 years in a minus 80 degree freezer and used to help in more extensive operations, for example revision surgery.

If you would like to consent to your bone being used as a vital component in these important procedures, please ask your surgeon or clinician during your outpatients appointment or during your pre-operative assessment. There are some exclusion criteria as there is a risk of transmission to the recipient, but this can be discussed further with your clinician.

If you would like to discuss a donation, please contact the Tissue and Bone Bank on 01691 404244.