When most people hear “organ donation,” they think of heart, kidney or liver transplants. But donation can also make a difference through tissue donation.
Donated human tissue can be recovered, screened, tested, processed and prepared for use in medical procedures that help repair injuries, restore function, protect damaged areas and support healing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates human cells and tissues intended for implantation, transplantation, infusion or transfer into a recipient. Examples include bone, connective tissue, skin, vessels, heart valves and corneas.
Depending on the type of tissue and how it is processed, donated tissue may be transplanted directly or prepared into grafts and other tissue products for specific medical procedures.
What medical conditions are treated with donated tissue?
Donated tissue can be used in the treatment or surgical management of a wide variety of conditions, including:
- Severe burns and complex wounds
- Lost bone after trauma or cancer
- Torn or damaged tendons and ligaments
- Certain corneal diseases and injuries
- Some cardiovascular conditions
- Injuries and conditions requiring reconstructive surgery
For example, when the cornea is severely damaged, doctors can remove the damaged portion and replace it with healthy donor corneal tissue. Depending on the condition, the transplant may replace the entire cornea or only a damaged layer.⁵
Musculoskeletal donations, also known as allografts — including bone, cartilage, tendons and ligaments — can be used to address reconstructive needs in appropriate patients.²
What are the common medical uses for donated tissue in the US?
Donated tissue is used across many areas of medicine, including orthopedic surgery, burn and wound care, reconstructive surgery, ophthalmology and cardiovascular procedures.
Before donated tissue can be used, it goes through screening and testing designed to reduce the risk of transmitting communicable diseases. FDA regulations require tissue establishments to screen and test donors and follow procedures intended to prevent disease transmission.³
What is donated birth tissue used for?
Birth tissue refers to tissues associated with childbirth, primarily the amniotic membrane, the innermost layer of the placenta. This tissue has been studied for wound healing, burns and ocular surface conditions, where it may support tissue repair, reduce inflammation and promote healing. It can also be used in certain eye procedures, such as corneal surface reconstruction and repair of the conjunctiva, the clear, thin membrane that covers the white part of the eye and lines the inside of the eyelid.
Research continues to explore applications in areas such as nerve regeneration, orthopedics and tissue engineering.⁴
How is donated bone used in orthopedic procedures?
Donated bone, also called a bone allograft, can help surgeons repair or reconstruct areas where a patient has lost bone or needs additional structural support.
Donated bone can be processed into different forms, such as fine bone particles, or grafted as full bones or large segments of bone. Bone allografts may be used to fill a bone defect, provide structural support. It can also create a framework that allows the patient’s own bone to grow into the area, like in the case of Claire Leffingwell who had a portion of her femur lost to cancer replaced by a piece of donated bone. They can be used in a variety of orthopedic procedures, depending on the patient’s injury or condition.²
What are the applications for donated skin grafts?
One of the most recognized uses for donated skin is burn care.
For patients with extensive burns, there may not be enough healthy skin available to immediately cover all of the injured areas. Donated skin can provide temporary coverage for a wound while the patient’s own skin is prepared for definitive grafting.⁶
Donated skin can also be used in the management of certain complex wounds and reconstructive procedures, such as breast reconstruction surgery for breast cancer survivors. In these situations, donor tissue can provide coverage and support the healing process while the patient’s body works to repair the underlying injury.⁶
In what surgeries are donated tendons and ligaments utilized?
Donated tendons and ligaments are primarily used in orthopedic and sports medicine procedures when surgeons need tissue to reconstruct or reinforce a damaged structure.
One example is anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, where a tendon graft can be used to create a new ligament. Donated tissue may also be considered in certain complex ligament injuries, revision procedures and other reconstructive surgeries.²
Musculoskeletal allografts, including tendons and ligaments, provide surgeons with another option when planning reconstruction. Whether donor tissue is appropriate depends on factors such as the patient’s injury, age, activity level and the specific procedure being performed.²
How do hospitals use donated tissue in surgical procedures?
Hospitals and surgeons use donated tissue in a variety of ways. Depending on the procedure, it can replace damaged tissue, provide structural support, reinforce a repair, cover a wound or help protect an injured area while the body heals.
For example, a surgeon may use a donated tendon to reconstruct a damaged ligament, donated bone to fill a bone defect or donor corneal tissue to replace a damaged portion of the eye.
The tissue used in these procedures must meet applicable safety and regulatory requirements. The FDA requires donor screening and testing for relevant communicable diseases and requires tissue establishments to follow procedures designed to prevent disease transmission.³
What products are made from donated human tissue for medical treatments?
Donated human tissue can be processed into a variety of grafts and medical products. Depending on the tissue and its intended use, these can include:
- Bone grafts and bone graft materials
- Tendon and ligament grafts
- Skin allografts
- Amniotic membrane products
- Corneal grafts
- Heart valves
- Other processed soft-tissue grafts
The processing method depends on the type of tissue and how it will be used. Some donated tissue is preserved and transplanted in a form similar to the original tissue, while other tissue may be processed into a specific form for a particular surgical application.
The FDA identifies bone, skin, corneas, ligaments, tendons, dura mater and heart valves among the human tissues regulated as human cells, tissues and cellular and tissue-based products (HCT/Ps).¹
What does it mean when donated tissues are used for cosmetic purposes?
The word “cosmetic” can sometimes make tissue donation sound different from what it actually is.
Donated tissue may be used during plastic or reconstructive surgery to restore the appearance or function of an area affected by injury, disease or another medical procedure. Reconstructive surgery can have both functional and aesthetic goals.
For example, skin grafts may be used to help with breast reconstruction for breast cancer survivors after a mastectomy. In these cases, improving appearance may be one part of helping a patient regain function, confidence or quality of life.
This is different from saying donated tissue is simply used as a consumer beauty product. Human tissue intended for implantation or transplantation is subject to FDA requirements governing donor eligibility, screening, testing and processing.¹,⁷
A gift that can help in many ways
Tissue donation may not always receive the same attention as organ donation, but its impact reaches many areas of medicine. A donated tissue can help a surgeon rebuild a damaged ligament, support the repair of a bone, protect a serious burn, restore vision or help a difficult wound heal.
References
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2026). Tissue & tissue products. https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/tissue-tissue-products
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. (2011). Use of musculoskeletal tissue allografts. https://new.aaos.org/globalassets/about/bylaws-library/information-statements/1011-use-of-musculoskeletal-tissue-allografts.pdf
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2021). Testing donors of human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products (HCT/Ps): Specific requirements. https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/safety-availability-biologics/testing-donors-human-cells-tissues-and-cellular-and-tissue-based-products-hctp-specific-requirements
- Parmar, U. P. S., Surico, P. L., Scarabosio, A., Barone, V., Singh, R. B., D’Ancona, F., Zeppieri, M., Parodi, P. C., Mori, T., Cutrupi, F., Ma, D. H., Di Zazzo, A., & Coassin, M. (2025). Amniotic membrane transplantation for wound healing, tissue regeneration and immune modulation. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports, 21(5), 1428–1448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12015-025-10892-x
- National Eye Institute. (2025). Corneal transplants. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nei.nih.gov/eye-health-information/eye-conditions-and-diseases/corneal-conditions/corneal-transplants
- Singer, A. J., & Boyce, S. T. (2017). Burn wound healing and tissue engineering. Journal of Burn Care & Research, 38(1), e605–e613. https://doi.org/10.1097/BCR.0000000000000462
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2026). Tissue and tissue product questions and answers. https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/tissue-tissue-products/tissue-and-tissue-product-questions-and-answers
