Guide to safety and quality assurance for organs, tissues and cells. 2nd ed

The purpose of this guide is to provide guidance for all those involved in the transplantation to maximise the quality, and thereby the success rate, of transplants, and to minimise the risks to all involved in this complex procedure. It includes safety and quality standards for procurement, preservation, processing, and distribution of organs, tissues and cells of human origin (allogeneic and autologous) used for transplantation purposes. As the European Union Directive on Tissues and Cells (2004/23/EC) was recently adopted, the European Commission will build on the Council of Europe's guide when establishing technical standards under the directive. This co-operation will ensure that the same standards are applied throughout Europe.