The Tissue Bank is one of the oldest tissue banks in the world. It was founded in 1952 by prof. Rudolf Klen, M.D., D.Sc. It is a modern, multifunctional department meeting all the requirements of the European Community directives and the related national legislation. Since 2011 it has been a holder of a permit issued by the State Institute for Drug Control and is listed in the database of tissue establishments of the European Union countries, both in the compendium and in the EUROCET database.
At present, the department is divided into 4 sections: Tissue Section (cell and tissue bank), Organ Bank, Breast Milk Bank and Cellular Therapy Laboratory. For clinical transplantation, the Tissue Section provides both cellular grafts (e.g. bone marrow, peripheral hematopoietic cells, umbilical cord blood) and tissue grafts (bone, ligament, cartilage and vascular).
Cell grafts are mainly used in hematology and oncology, tissue grafts are used for reconstructive surgeries in neurosurgery, traumatology, vascular surgery, orthopedics, burn medicine, and ophthalmology. Cryopreserved cell grafts are kept at liquid nitrogen temperatures enabling long-term storage for years to decades. Cryopreservation of sperm and its long-term storage is part of the oncological care for patients who undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy as a counter-measure against possible future infertility. Tissue grafts are stored at a temperature of -80°C and can be used for 5 years.
Tissue grafts are not only used for the treatment of patients at the University Hospital Hradec Králové but are also distributed to a number of state and non-state health facilities throughout the CR in cooperation with ambulance services.The Breast Milk Bank is an important section dealing with the collection and processing of breast milk from donors. Breast milk serves as a substitution for the natural maternal diet and is distributed for the needs of the Department of Pediatrics at University Hospital Hradec Králové.
The Cellular Therapy Laboratory is an integral part of the department and currently focuses on the cryopreservation of mesenchymal stem cells as part of ongoing research on the treatment of joint defects.
The department participates in the teaching of students of the Charles University Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové.
