Seventeen years on and the national tissue bank is still evolving. ANNIE FREEDA CRUEZ gets an insight into the role of this all important institute that is serving Malaysian patients.
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Donated bone allograft used in surgery. |
HE was rushed to the hospital screaming in pain, his face and chest scalded by boiling water. And it took the doctors quite some time to soothe the pain and calm the frightened little boy.
That was in 1993 and today that little boy, who is now a young man, is all smiles.
His wounds have since healed nicely. There are some scars but they are hardly noticeable, thanks to the skilled surgeons and the National Tissue Bank which provided the amino membrane to help form skin equivalents and skin grafting.
It was a first for the tissue bank which has the capability to process, prepare and supply tissue grafts or tissue substitutes used by surgeons and dental specialists on patients.
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Processed tissues produced by the National Tissue Bank at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan. |
The tissue bank has since provided more than 10,000 tissue graft and tissue substitutes.
They were for Malaysian patients suffering from bone and skin diseases, bone fractures, scalded skins, ulcers of the cornea and other ailments.
The tissue bank, which is located at Universiti Sains Malaysia's health campus in Kelantan, today serves 38 government and private hospitals.
Not only is the tissue bank actively involved in producing graft and replacement tissues, with help from research done at USM, it also procures and manages safely the tissue allografts from live and cadaveric donors.
It is also responsible for managing the tissue graft radiation process at the Malaysian Nuclear Agency.
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Dr Suzina Sheikh Ab Hamid says the first processed tissue graft was used on a patient in Klang in 1993. |
Dr Suzina Sheikh Ab Hamid, who is with the National Tissue Bank, said efforts to start the bank began in 1990 through the collaboration of USM, the national nuclear agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
USM was chosen by the national nuclear agency as a joint research organisation and IAEA as the consultant and main sponsor. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment provided a research grant.
Dr Suzina said the pioneer researchers started the medical biotechnology-based research in 1992 at the School of Medical Sciences health campus in USM, Kelantan.
"With the strong support of the ministry plus the determination and commitment of the researchers, the first processed tissue graft was produced and used on the young a patient in 1993, the first such treatment in Malaysia."
The National Tissue Bank was officially inaugurated on Nov 5, 1994 and its work has been regularly audited by IAEA-appointed auditors.
"We are involved in various tissue bank activities, including retrieving tissues from tissue donors and producing tissue grafts.
"Our work is in line with the guidelines set by the Human Tissue Act, 1974 and fatwa ruling laid by the Islamic authorities in Malaysia."
Dr Suzina said the tissue bank is also involved in academic activities related to undergraduate and postgraduate students and collaborates in research.
Since 1994, more than 12 elective programmes have been offered to undergraduate students from USM and other institutions in Malaysia.
The tissue bank also supervises the Master's of Medicine and Master's of Science candidates in their dissertation preparation in the field of biomaterial and tissue banking.
Dr Suzina said research and development is the backbone of production of the tissue graft programme and the success in the clinical usage of the graft tissue products depends on the continuous research conducted by tissue bank.
The tissue bank has actively conducted 30 awareness campaigns on tissue banking for professionals and about organ or tissue donation for the public.
It has also organised road shows in hospitals to explain to health workers about the roles played by the tissue bank in health services.
Dr Suzina said the road shows had helped make health workers aware of their duties and responsibilities in developing and instilling awareness among Malaysians on the importance of tissue and organ donations.
The tissue bank conducts training for doctors, dentists, scientists, medical assistants, nurses and medical technologists.
Dr Suzina said the tissue bank is monitoring the outcome of tissue graft usage on patients and also collecting data at the national level using the Health Ministry's National Transplant Registration database.
The tissue bank was awarded the MS ISO 9001:2000 Quality Administration System certification in March 2005.
It is conducting integrated research activities in biomaterial, tissue engineering and stem cells in collaboration with local and foreign researchers.
The National Tissue Bank has helped train local expertise in the field, providing much relief to patients in need. In the process, it has established itself as the choice reference centre in the field at the national level.
World congress next month
“WHAT’S New In Tissue Banking” is the theme of the 5th World Congress on Tissue Banking in Kuala Lumpur on June 2-6.
The congress is being held in conjunction with the 12th International Conference of Asia Pacific Association of Surgical Tissue Banks.
The pre-congress workshop on June 2-3 will cover three issues: Radiation Sterilisation of Tissue Grafts; Tissue Donation Co-ordination and Procurement; and Biomechanics for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering.
On June 3-5, there will be three special lectures, six plenary lectures and 20 themed symposia on all aspects of cell and tissue banking, clinical applications of preserved tissue allografts and tissue engineering.
This article was originally published in NST Online.
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