'%3e%3cg id='Final-Copy-2_2_' transform='translate(1275.000000, 200.000000)'%3e%3cpath class='st0' d='M7.4,12.8h6.8l3.1-11.6H7.4C4.2,1.2,1.6,3.8,1.6,7S4.2,12.8,7.4,12.8z'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3cg id='final---dec.11-2020'%3e%3cg id='_x30_208-our-toggle' transform='translate(-1275.000000, -200.000000)'%3e%3cg id='Final-Copy-2' transform='translate(1275.000000, 200.000000)'%3e%3cpath class='st1' d='M22.6,0H7.4c-3.9,0-7,3.1-7,7s3.1,7,7,7h15.2c3.9,0,7-3.1,7-7S26.4,0,22.6,0z M1.6,7c0-3.2,2.6-5.8,5.8-5.8 h9.9l-3.1,11.6H7.4C4.2,12.8,1.6,10.2,1.6,7z'/%3e%3cpath id='x' class='st2' d='M24.6,4c0.2,0.2,0.2,0.6,0,0.8l0,0L22.5,7l2.2,2.2c0.2,0.2,0.2,0.6,0,0.8c-0.2,0.2-0.6,0.2-0.8,0 l0,0l-2.2-2.2L19.5,10c-0.2,0.2-0.6,0.2-0.8,0c-0.2-0.2-0.2-0.6,0-0.8l0,0L20.8,7l-2.2-2.2c-0.2-0.2-0.2-0.6,0-0.8 c0.2-0.2,0.6-0.2,0.8,0l0,0l2.2,2.2L23.8,4C24,3.8,24.4,3.8,24.6,4z'/%3e%3cpath id='y' class='st3' d='M12.7,4.1c0.2,0.2,0.3,0.6,0.1,0.8l0,0L8.6,9.8C8.5,9.9,8.4,10,8.3,10c-0.2,0.1-0.5,0.1-0.7-0.1l0,0 L5.4,7.7c-0.2-0.2-0.2-0.6,0-0.8c0.2-0.2,0.6-0.2,0.8,0l0,0L8,8.6l3.8-4.5C12,3.9,12.4,3.9,12.7,4.1z'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Your Privacy Choices
Founding and Early Publications
1976: AATB was established to promote safe tissue donation and transplantation practices.
1977: The first annual meeting's proceedings were published, providing a comprehensive look at tissue banking practices and ethics.
Establishing Standards
1984: The first edition of AATB's Standards for Tissue Banking was published, setting the initial professional standards in the field.
1986: A voluntary accreditation program was launched, and the first Procedures Manual was published to help standardize methods in tissue banking.
Technical Manuals and Updates
1987: The Technical Manual for Tissue Banking was published, including step-by-step procedures for various tissue types.
1992: The Technical Manual was updated, adding a section for cardiovascular tissues and introducing a protocol for reporting potential disease transmission.
Expanded Guidelines
1993: The sixth edition of Standards introduced guidelines for medical facility tissue storage and issuance, ensuring safety and traceability.
1996: The seventh edition appears, by now expanded to 108 pages after incorporating new sections on records management, quality assurance, and quality control.
Modern Developments
2002: The 10th edition marked the first time the Standards were numbered.
2006: The 11th edition introduced a CD-ROM format and expanded the printed publication.
2008-2016: The 12th and 13th editions included guidance documents to complement specific standards. The 14th edition incorporated these documents as appendices and was the first to be published electronically.
Recent Innovations
2022: AATB initiated the "Standards Rebuild Project" to redesign Standards according to a simpler, more adaptable set of requirements within a quality systems framework.
2024: The 15th edition of Standards was released, designed to provide clearer and more user-friendly requirements and be more readily adaptable to evolving products and technologies in tissue banking.
For more details on the current standards, visit our Standards page.