American Association of Tissue Banks AATB

About

The American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) is a professional, non-profit, scientific and educational organization.

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It is the only national tissue banking organization in the United States, and its membership totals more than 100 accredited tissue banks and 1,000 individual members. 

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These banks recover tissue from more than 30,000 donors and distribute in excess of two million allografts for more than one million tissue transplants performed annually in the U.S.

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The overwhelming majority of the human tissue distributed for these transplants comes from AATB-accredited tissue banks.

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The Association was founded in 1976 by a group of doctors and scientists who had started in 1949 our nation’s first tissue bank, the United States Navy Tissue Bank.

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Recognizing the increasing use of human tissue for transplant, these individuals saw the need for a national organization to develop standards, promote ethics and increase donations.

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Since its beginning, the AATB has been dedicated to improving and saving lives by promoting the safety, quality and availability of donated human tissue.

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To fulfill that mission, the AATB publishes standards, accredits tissue banks and certifies personnel.

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The association also interacts with regulatory agencies and conducts educational meetings.