What is the human tissue bank?

Héma-Québec supplies human tissues for grafting and transplantation, in addition to managing the only human tissue bank for the entire province of Québec.

Raising awareness

Héma-Québec raises awareness among the public and hospital staff about the importance of identifying potential donors. When prospective donors are identified, health professionals refer them to Héma-Québec, which handles the process for collecting human tissues, including corneas.

Collecting human tissue

Héma-Québec is also responsible for collecting various tissues, in accordance with the wishes of the deceased donors and their loved ones, and processes them for eventual transplantation. Héma-Québec collects the following human tissues:  

• Musculoskeletal tissues (ligaments, tendons, bone chips, femoral heads (end of the femur);  
• arterial tissues (abdominal aortas and arteries); 
• Cutaneous tissues (skin); 
• Heart tissues (valves); 
• Eye tissues (corneas).

Distributing human tissue

Héma-Québec meets the needs of medical teams and patients to safely distribute human tissues to Québec’s hospitals.