For over 35 years, surgeons and hospitals have come to trust LifeLink Tissue Bank. This is due to our strict screening, recovery, processing technology and our adherence to Safety First.
Since our inception, LifeLink has had Zero instances of viral or bacterial disease transmission with all the allografts that have been distributed and implanted. Our outstanding safety record means that surgeons can operate with confidence.
The Foundation’s three federally designated Organ Procurement Organization (OPOs) receive the donor’s advanced medical and social history information to aid in our stringent donor screening process.
- <2% of all donor referrals meet donor eligibility requirements
- We culture all tissue at the time of recovery and all aseptically processed batches of final allografts are additionally cultured
- LifeLink only recovers tissue in a qualified recovery environment
- We have earned a reputation in the surgical community for providing allografts of exceptional safety and quality
LifeLink adheres to strict recovery and processing SOP’s with dual proprietary processing methods that result in an outstanding safety record.
- All musculoskeletal allografts undergo a proven aseptic processing method (Allowash®) which includes an intensive cleansing process to kill and eliminate viruses and bacteria by removing 99% of the bone marrow and lipids
- Minimized risk of allograft failure and reoperation using Allowash processing technology and low dose irradiation
- Studies performed demonstrated no impact to the biomechanical integrity or osteoinductivity of allografts processed using Allowash technology
- All LifeLink tissue is processed in our state-of-the-art ISO Class 5 cleanrooms
The LifeLink Tissue Bank is dedicated and committed to all our physicians, distributors, corporate partners, research institutions, and ultimately our patients and donor families. This partnership is an arrangement where we agree to cooperate and band together to advance the mutual interests of both parties involved. The key principles of our successful partnerships are openness, trust, honesty, agreed shared goals and values, and regular communication between partners.
Experience – 35 years of tissue processing experience
Education and Training – We teach, inform, and enlighten
Reliable – We deliver value, safety, and quality
Co-Development – Joint efforts and collaboration
Communication – Consistent and constant exchange of information
Unsurpassed Safety & Quality
The use of the Allowash® technology by LifeLink will never act as a substitute for the strict donor screening and testing guidelines employed by LifeLink. Allowash® adds an ever-greater measure of assurance to physicians and patients.
- All LifeLink technical personnel are trained to rigorous policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with AATB Standards for Tissue Banking and regulatory requirements
- Comprehensive QA program monitors all LifeLink tissue banking operations in order to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable disease
- Comprehensive serologic testing performed on each donor
- We maintain a robust microbial contamination prevention program using UV light and other measures to reduce incoming bioburden
- Use of electronic processing records to reduce error frequency
LifeLink customers have grown to appreciate a multitude of options when choosing an allograft. For our Sports Tendons, LifeLink uniquely provides two different catalog numbers, to distinguish between aseptically processed and terminally sterilized tissue.
Aseptically Processed Tendons
- Never exposed to radiation
- Aseptic handling throughout the entire process
- The majority of all tendons recovered at LifeLink are aseptically processed
Terminally Sterilized Tendons
- Low dose terminal gamma radiation
- Validated to a Sterility Assurance Level (SAL) of = 10-6
