Allografts have seen considerable clinical success in many soft tissue reconstructive procedures. This includes anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction which is one of the most common orthopaedic procedures performed today. In fact, estimates indicate that 300,000 ACL reconstructions are performed annually. Approximately 240,000, or 80%, of them are performed utilizing autograft tissue and 60,000, or 20%, with allograft tissue.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons asserts that over five million musculosketetal allografts have been allocated to surgeons in the past decade. The American Association of Tissue Banks reports that the demand for musculoskeletal grafts has grown from approximately 700,000 grafts in 2001 to 1.5 million grafts in 2007.
-Source: Sports Health, May/June 2014
