Organ transplantation |
Almost 70% of US donor hearts go untransplanted, largely due to preservation limits on assessment and matching2,38,79,92,170
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Cancer treatment and fertility |
Ovary banking can save fertility/hormone balance in 140,000 girls and young women diagnosed with cancer and potentially exposed to chemo- and radiotherapy in the United States each year117
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Emergency preparedness |
Banked bone marrow and cord blood could benefit >10,000 patients after a nuclear accident or attack130,171 as well as 14,000 US patients each year suffering acute injury who would benefit from a transplant172
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Limb recovery and transplantation |
30,000 traumatic amputations per year in the United States; two-thirds of victims are children and young adults133
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Basic medical research |
Human tissue would be a superior model to the 100 million mice and rats used in research each year173; tissue banking advances are critically needed to aid approaches seeking to treat malignancies174, neurodegenerative diseases175, and other disorders |
Trauma care |
30,000 patients admitted to specialized US burn units each year176. After a nuclear accident/attack, and estimated ~3% of the skin grafts required would currently be available177
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Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine Drug discovery |
Shelf life of regenerative medicine products, a sector with a predicted >$500-billion market by 2025178 Banked human tissue would benefit pre-clinical drug testing and potentially improve low efficiency of drug development179,180
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