Bone bank is a medical supply of bone that can be used in surgical operations. Doctors use the bone to repair fractures, to replace diseased bone, or to fill in missing bone segments in children and adults.
The bone stored in a bone bank comes from persons who have had healthy bone removed as part of an amputation or other surgery. The bones may be cut into small chips or thin strips for easy storage. Careful surgical techniques are used to ensure that the bone is sterile. It is preserved by freezing or by using special chemicals. Some banks sterilize and preserve the bone by means of high-voltage radiation.
Perhaps the best-known bone bank in the United States is the Tissue Bank at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda in Maryland. Scientists also preserve skin, muscle, brain membranes, and blood vessels there.
