Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria
VIDEO: Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria: Dr Marisa Herson, Kellie Hamilton and Ben Stewart from Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria.
__________________________________________________________________________
Established in 1989, the Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria (DTBV) was the first, and remains the only, multi-tissue bank in Australasia. It is also Australia’s only tissue bank which screens, donors, processes, stores, tests and distributes multiple types of tissue from the one facility. It is a public sector not-for-profit organisation.
Its core function is to provide Australian surgeons with safe and effective tissue grafts for transplantation in many areas of orthopaedic, cardiothoracic, reconstructive surgery and burn care, benefiting many Australian citizens every year.
DTBV also facilitates access to corneas for the Lions Corneal Donation Service and our services extend to assisting researchers who require access to human tissue for the completion of ethically approved research projects work that allows us to contribute to both directly advancing health care and also to facilitate the post graduate teaching of medical specialists.
The Donor Tissue Bank of Victoria offers relatives and loved ones the opportunity to salvage something positive from the tragedy of the loss of someone they loved. The centre also provides a living donor program where people undergoing routine hip replacement can donate for transplant, the otherwise discarded bone removed during the surgery. The Bank’s operations are overseen by an ethics committee and an advisory board with an emphasis on quality and safety.
The DTBV operates within the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and also provides forensic microbiology services to support the coronial process.