Organs are Allografts, Too!
Did you know that organs are also a type of allograft? We usually think of skin, tendons, bone, and heart valves as allografts, but solid organs are also allografts, which are defined as “a tissue or organ obtained from one member of a species and grafted to a genetically dissimilar member of the same species.”1 […]
Understanding Stem Cells Part 2: Ready for the Clinic?
With advances in research and technology, using stem cells for their regenerative potential has become a reality. But many stem cell treatments on the market have been marketed to the public and applied clinically without scientific evidence of efficacy. Worse, some treatments with stem cells have caused serious adverse events. Provided that cell and tissue […]
Understanding Stem Cells, Part 1: Stem Cells 101
Stem cells are a promising regenerative medicine tool and treatment. So much information on stem cell research exists that sorting through the facts and the hype can be daunting. This post will focus on explaining stem cell basics: What are stem cells, and what are the different types? Here, we will focus on adult stem […]
Introduction to Allografts
An allograft is a tissue transplant between genetically dissimilar members of the same species1. An allograft is different from an autograft, which utilizes tissue from the same individual’s body and is…
Understanding Tissue Sterilization, Part 2: Radiation Roundup
In Part 1, we reviewed the differences between aseptic processing and terminal sterilization. In this post, we’ll explore two validated methods of sterilizing tissue through radiation: gamma radiation and E-beam radiation…