Unlike the organs for transplantation shortage, tissue for transplantation is more available and usually recipients do not have to wait years before they become transplanted. However, it is important to augment the number of tissue donors in the area of recovery in order to be able to match the needs of tissue recipients from this community.

The transplantation process begins with tissue donation. It starts with a referral to the New York Organ Donor Network, an organ procurement organization, from one of the 108 hospitals in the Greater New York metropolitan area, that a death has occurred or that a death is imminent. In terms of the 1998 Routine Referral Law, the Donor Network is legally responsible for contacting the next of kin of all patients who die in a hospital in the Greater New York metropolitan area, so that the option of tissue donation may be considered. That means that we contact more than 50,000 next of kin over a course of a year.

Trained Consent Coordinators from the New York Organ Donor Network staff members work with the hospital staff members in gathering information to determine if the patient is medically suitable for tissue donation.

When tissue is donated, the Donor Network's Tissue Recovery Team sends recovered tissue to the tissue bank (processor) immediately after recovery. The tissue bank places all recovered tissues into quarantine until the final medical evaluation and clearance by the Medical Director occurs. This clearance includes a confirmation that no infectious disease is present in the tissue and that the tissue is safe for transplantation.

Eyes and corneas are processed within five days and may be transplanted by the sixth day.

Cardiovascular tissue and musculoskeletal tissue may be stored up to five years in special deep freezers.

When a patient needs a tissue transplant, the patient's surgeon requests the specific tissue from the tissue bank (processor) with specific shape and size needed. For example:

		If a baby needs an aortic valve transplant, the cardiac surgeon requests an aortic valve that matches the baby's heart, measured by heart catheterization or x-ray.
		If a patient needs bone replacement due to a tumor, the orthopedic surgeon will provide an x-ray to the tissue bank and request a specific bone graft of a size that matches the bone measured on the x-ray.