Focus on Quality

Focus on Quality: 
Recovery Biopsy Procedure Enhances Safety, Increases Donations

The American Association of Tissue Banks accepted a LifeNet Health study for publishing that examines the effect of recovery biopsy in determining donor eligibility and suitability. The study will be presented during the AATB 34th Annual Meeting, September 10-14 in National Harbor, Maryland. 

The findings indicate LifeNet Health’s recovery biopsy procedure is an integral safety strategy that increases the gift of donation and prevents unnecessary deferral or discard of donor tissue.

Recovery teams often encounter unusual or suspicious skin or tissue lesions upon physical assessment. In these cases, recovery personnel would elect to defer or document the concern for the medical director to assess the lesion at suitability. In 2005, LifeNet Health initiated a recovery biopsy procedure to increase donations and avoid unnecessary deferral or discard of tissues. 

LifeNet Health researchers recently conducted a retroactive study to review all recovery biopsies from January 2005 through March 2010 and examine the biopsy reports. The researchers studied the effect the pathology diagnosis had on donor suitability and any effect the biopsy protocol had on efficiency. The study of 561 biopsies revealed that there was no effect on medical suitability in 98.4 percent of the cases. 

The study concluded that recovery biopsy has allowed recovery teams to better manage their time by quickly identifying and biopsying suspicious lesions without trying to make a determination of donor eligibility and possibly deferring a qualified donor. Evaluation of the biopsy report eliminates the problem of trying to interpret findings on physical assessment. Identifying occult malignancy or a possible relevant infection eliminates the potential risk for transmission of disease. The recovery biopsy has become an integral part of LifeNet Health’s overall safety strategy, increasing the gift of donation and avoiding unnecessary deferral or discard of donors.