Tissue Bank : Current Status and Development in the Field of Plastic Surgery in Korea

The brief history of human tissue bank is reviewed, and the current status of tissue bank in the field of plastic surgery in Korea is presented. We sent a questionnaire to 58 plastic and reconstructive surgery training hospitals. The survey was completed in 27 hospitals. The results were as follows : the number of hospitals managing a tissue bank was 16, and the remaining 11 hospitals did not manage a tissue bank. Less than 30% of the plastic and reconstructive surgery training hospitals' tissue banks were managed by the plastic and reconstructive department by itself. In the field of plastic surgery in Korea, skin banks are most popular among the tissue banks. The development of the national skin bank is needed and there are a lot of parts to be improved in the management of tissue banks.