Tissue extraction is carried out by a team of surgeons after a transplantation coordinator certified by the Japan Society of Tissue Transplantation (JSTT) explains tissue donation to the donor’s family, and obtains their consent. The donated tissue undergoes preservation work in a clean room and is stored under strict roundthe- clock computerized management, so that it may be transplanted to a patient (recipient) who is deemed to necessitate a tissue transplantation. As a rare tissue bank that handles homograft cardiac valves and vascular tissues in Japan, the department is certified by the JSTT and has the largest number of stored tissues in Japan.

• Cardiac valve transplantation
  Infectious endocarditis, prosthetic valve infection, aortic valve periannular abscess, some cases of congenital cardiovascular diseases (hypoplastic left heart syndrome, pulmonary artery/aorta reconstruction, etc.), etc.
• Vascular transplantation
  Aortic vessel transplantation: vascular prosthesis infection, infected aortic aneurysm, Venous vessel transplantation: hepatobiliary tract and pancreas diseases, some cases of congenital cardiac diseases.

• Excellent resistance to infections : Homograft tissues are cryopreserved in a state in which the cells are alive, and provide higher resistance to infections by bacteria than artificial cardiac valves and vessels.
• No need for anticoagulation : It is not always necessary to use coagulants throughout one’s life, as in the case of post-replacement of artificial cardiac valves and blood vessels, and it is particularly useful for people who are engaged with strenuous exercise, young children, or women who have a desire to give birth.
• Durability : As long as 15 to 20 years. However, re-do operations may be necessary in some cases.
• Banking system : In collaboration with other tissue banking facilities in Japan, responds to recovery cases mainly in the Kanto region. Certified cardiac and liver surgeons consists the donor response team. Shipment area covers entire nation.
• Statistics : Between its establishment in 1998 to the end of 2020, UTTB has recovered tissue from 255 donors and provided precious grafts to 44 medical institution totaling 957 cases of transplantation.
• Honoring the donor : Importance is non-comparable to artificial grafts. Human tissues are recovered from deceased donors. Since donation is rare in Japan, graft supply remains scarce. We honor donor and family members, who decided to give to others in their final moments. It is our mission to maintain and spread this precious and important therapeutic option in Japan.