One of the many reasons I love being me:

FDA Warns About Unscreened Human Tissue; N.J. Company Under Investigation:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it is investigating a New Jersey-based company that sold human tissue to processors for eventual implantation into people because it may not have been properly screened for infections.

The New York Daily News reported earlier this month that the district attorney's office in Brooklyn, N.Y., is investigating the company, Biomedical Tissue Services of Fort Lee, N.J., on allegations the firm illegally bought body parts from funeral homes to sell to tissue processors. An FDA spokeswoman would not comment on those allegations.

The tissues include human bones, skin and tendons and constitute only a small portion of the U.S. tissue supply, the FDA said. They were implanted between early 2004 and September 2005.

No illnesses connected to the tissues have been reported to the FDA, and they were handled properly once they were sold to tissue processing outlets, reducing the chance of infection. However, authorities recommend doctors offer tests to tissue recipients for HIV-1 and 2, hepatitis B and C and syphilis. Tissue donors are typically screened for those illnesses, the FDA said.

Five companies received tissue from Biomedical Tissue Services, according to the FDA:
--LifeCell Corp. of Branchburg, N.J.
--Lost Mountain Tissue Bank of Kennesaw, Ga.
--Blood and Tissue Center of Central Texas in Austin, Texas.
--Tutogen Medical Inc. of Alachua, Fla.
--Regeneration Technologies Inc. of Alachua, Fla.

The companies have recalled all unused tissue and are notifying doctors and health care facilities that received their products of the problem.

Great, my knee is being re-called......

JQP