Contribution for discussion: Problems of homograft procurement

Abstract

Prior to commercial availability of glutaraldehyde-preserved heterograft valves and conduits (mostly porcine) in the early 1970s, cadaver homografts were frequently used in the United States for valve replacement and conduits. As we now know, the methods of preservation for those homografts — quick freeze and gamma ray irradiation — potentiated early degeneration and calcification. Thus disappointing clinical results, combined with the ready availability of commercially prepared porcine heterografts in a wide range of sizes (so each institution could maintain a full inventory) led to the dismantling of most institutions’ tissue banks.