Table 4.
Tissue handling and processing
| Tissue type | Recovery technique | Transport to tissue bank | Processing at tissue bank | Transport to miller lab |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bone and tendon | Standard surgical techniques, en bloc for the tendons and disarticulated for the bone | Tissue placed in transport solution and transported on wet ice (1–10 °C) or dry ice (~ − 50 °C), arriving to the tissue establishment within 48–72 h after recovery | Stored frozen at − 20 °C or − 80 °C; no processing | Tissues shipped on dry ice (~ − 50 °C) |
| Tissue is transported on wet ice (1–10 °C) for up to 36 h | ||||
| Cardiovascular (CV) tissues (i.e., artery, vein, heart valve) | Standard surgical techniques, en bloc for the vascular tissues, with no chemical agents applied to the tissue | Transported to the tissue bank packaged in normal saline, placed in a cooler on wet ice (1–10 °C) within 24 h of recovery | Dissected, disinfected with an antibiotic/antifungal cocktail, and cryopreserved in tissue culture media supplemented with 10% dimethylsulfoxide (cryoprotectant), 10% fetal calf serum and cryopreserved at − 1 °C per minute to at least − 50 °C and stored in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen ~ − 150 °C | Tissues shipped on dry ice (~ − 50 °C) |
| Dissected, disinfected with an antibiotic/ antifungal cocktail, stored − 80 °C freezer until shipped on dry ice | ||||
| Dermis | Standard surgical technique, surgical prep solution is used and then rinsed off during packaging stage | The tissue is then packaged in saline or RMPI, transported on wet ice (1–10 °C) for up to 36 h | Stored at 2–8 °C; no processing | Tissues shipped on dry ice (~ − 50 °C) |
| Blood Specimens | Collected after cessation of the heartbeat | After collection and separation, immediately stored at − 80 °C | Not applicable | Blood specimens shipped on dry ice (~ − 50 °C) |
This table information provided about how tissues were handled and processed, including storage and transport temperatures. For some tissue types, there were differences among study participants in how tissues were handled, indicated by including different information within that category