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A few days ago, a shocking case of "stealing and selling corpses" was exposed on the Internet. A pharmaceutical company in Shanxi cooperated with funeral homes in many places to illegally steal corpses for dissection and bone extraction, and made allogeneic bones and other biological tissue materials to make profits.

A pharmaceutical company in Shanxi illegally stole corpses for dissection and bone extraction丨Weibo@新浪热门

This news made many people hear about "Allograft bone"This term has also raised many questions: What exactly is allogeneic bone? What is it used for? Why has it become the choice of unscrupulous companies to use human remains to make profits?

The term "allogeneic bone" may sound a bit confusing. The allogeneic bone material generally used in medicine is actually the abbreviation of "human allogeneic bone". The so-called "allogeneic" means that these bone tissues come from the same species, which is naturally human for us; while "allogeneic" means that they come from different individuals.

Therefore, allograft bone is bone tissue obtained from another person and, after a series of processing, used for medical purposes.In clinical practice, if a patient's bones are injured and their body cannot provide enough healthy bone to repair them, doctors may use bones taken from other people for transplantation.Bone and cartilage are the second most common type of tissue transplanted clinically, second only to blood.

Currently, whetherfractureAllogeneic bone can play an important role in complex surgeries such as repair, filling of bone defects, and spinal fusion. Especially in some surgeries that require a large amount of bone tissue support, allogeneic bone has become an indispensable "life-saving straw".

However, before allogeneic bone can play a role,These bones need to be processed to reduce their incompatibility with the recipient's body(That is, as we often sayimmunityThis process involves multiple steps and requires both sophisticated techniques and strict medical procedures.

The concept opposite to allogeneic bone isAutologous boneAs the name suggests, autologous bone is bone taken from the patient's own body. In orthopedic surgery, autologous bone is usually a small piece of bone tissue taken from the patient's ilium, tibia or other parts.

Autologous bone comes from the patient's own body, is most compatible with it, and has the lowest risk of immune rejection. Therefore, autologous bone usually integrates faster and better with the recipient site.It is the best choice in bone transplantation surgery。

However, in reality, using autologous bone requires additional surgery, which makes the entire treatment process more complicated and the patient will feel more pain. The site of bone removal may have additional recovery problems, such as postoperative pain,Infect, bleeding or functional impairment. Moreover, the supply of autologous bone is limited by the patient's own bones and sometimes may not be able to meet the bone transplant needs.

Therefore, in clinical practice, doctors will choose the most suitable bone transplant material based on the specific needs and conditions of the patient in order to achieve the best treatment effect.Relatively speaking, allogeneic bone is more widely available and easier to use, and is the second choice for surgeons when choosing a graft in addition to autologous bone.

We can think of allografts as "relatives" in the bone family. Although these bones come from different people, their structure and function are similar, just like you and your siblings are slightly different but all belong to the same family. Bones from different people may differ in details, but their overall structure and function are very similar.

This "relative" relationship enables allogeneic bone to effectively help repair damaged bones.It preserves the bone's natural structure, shape and strength, and promotes new bone growth.This means that in many cases, they can meet the needs of patients very well, and the transplanted bones can sometimes fuse together stably and long-term like a natural part of the body. Allogeneic bones have unique advantages in this regard.

In bone transplantation surgery, the selection of bone grafts is crucial. In addition to the allogeneic bone and autologous bone mentioned above, it also includes xenogeneic bone and synthetic materials.

Xenogeneic bone refers to bones that come from another species, such as cow or pig bones.These bones are usually processed and sterilized to eliminate the risk of immune rejection. Although xenogeneic bone is widely available, it may be associated with a higher risk of rejection and long-term stability issues compared to autologous and allogeneic bone.

Synthetic materials include bioglass, hydroxyapatite, polylactic acid, etc.These materials can mimic the function of bone tissue and promote bone regeneration. Although synthetic materials can be customized and generally do not cause immune rejection, they may not completely mimic the properties of natural bone.

There are about 42 billion bone cells in the human skeleton, and in some people, the number of bone cells is close to the number of nerve cells in the brain. These bone cells are connected to each other to form a dense network and constantly exchange information. Even if we can't feel it, the bones in the body will constantly renew themselves and replace old bone tissue with new bone tissue.The signals that these bone cells communicate with each other are difficult to simulate with non-natural bone materials., scientists are also trying to decipher these codes, bringing new hope to the treatment of orthopedic diseases.

In contrast, allogeneic bone shows unique advantages in some cases. Although it does not retain the original living cells, allogeneic bone can effectively integrate into the recipient's bone tissue and play an important role, so it has a high application value in bone transplantation surgery.However, it is precisely these advantages and broad application prospects that allow some people to see the profit space therein.For example, the illegal companies mentioned in the news obtain human bones through illegal means, and then process and sell them to make huge profits.

The quality of the donor bone will directly affect the transplantation effect, and it is necessary to ensure that the donated bones are not affected by infectious diseases, etc. In addition, improper handling and storage of bones may cause changes in bone structure and affect its biological function.Therefore, the company's actions not only violated laws and regulations, but also seriously damaged the rights and interests of patients and the dignity of body donation.

The quality of the donor bone will directly affect the transplant effect丨TuChong Creative

Bone donation involves ethical and legal issues, including informed consent of donors, use and distribution of bones, etc. These issues need to be comprehensively considered and managed in multiple aspects of medicine, law and ethics, including perfect methods and regulations for body donation, strict bone collection system, formal and perfect bone bank, and strengthening basic and clinical research related to bone transplantation. Therefore, in bone transplantation surgery, laws, regulations and ethical norms must be observed to ensure the legality and safety of bone sources. At the same time, supervision should be strengthened to crack down on illegal activities and protect the rights and interests of patients and the goodwill of donors.

Currently, the demand for bone transplantation surgery in society continues to grow, especially when dealing with accidental injuries, major surgeries and bone diseases, the demand for allogeneic bone among patients has increased significantly.However, the source of allogeneic bones is severely insufficient, mainly because the awareness and mechanism of donating bodies have not yet been widely popularized.Many people lack knowledge about body donation, or have misunderstandings and concerns, which makes it difficult for them to make donation decisions. This situation has resulted in the supply of allogeneic bones being far from meeting the growing demand, and to some extent has given criminals an opportunity to take advantage of it.

With the development of medical technology, allogeneic bone plays an increasingly important role in bone transplantation surgery. We hope that more people will understand the importance of donation, which may help alleviate the shortage of this resource in the future and help more patients regain their health and quality of life.

Author: White-clothed Stupid Bird

Editor: Li Xiaoqiu

This article comes from Guokr and may not be reproduced without permission.