Veterinary tissue banking: the role of the veterinary nurse

Abstract

Tissue banking involves harvesting specific tissues from donated remains, and processing and storing these tissues such that they may be used as tissue grafts in recipient patients. Veterinary tissue banking involves a coordinated series of processes including establishing and maintaining a donor register, informed consent from owners, tissue retrieval and processing, delivery of the graft to the recipient patient, and recording the use of grafts. Veterinary nurses may be involved in several of these steps particularly with communication to owners regarding the benefits of tissue donation and coordinating donation itself. Nurses working in practices with a surgical interest may manage an inventory of grafts in the practice as well as assisting with, and recording, graft usage by surgeons. This paper reviews the process of tissue banking with particular emphasis on the role of veterinary nurses and provides nurses with encouragement to become more involved in the tissue donation process