Türkiye launches nationwide tissue, cell banking system

ANKARA

The Turkish Health Ministry has announced the launch of a national tissue and cell banking system, designed to meet patients’ needs through domestic production.

The initiative will enable the manufacture of personalized tissue and cell products — considered the therapies of the future — at high-security facilities. All production, application and treatment processes will be digitally monitored.

As a result, surgical and medical treatments will no longer rely on imported tissue and cell products, according to a statement by the ministry.

Instead, locally manufactured products derived either from patients’ own tissues and cells or from suitable donors will be used, minimizing the risk of immune rejection and boosting treatment success rates.

New Tissue and Cell Product Production Centers will be established nationwide, where human-derived materials will be collected under strict biosafety standards.

Türkiye is highly advanced in treatments involving stem cell transplants, and there are many cases in which international patients are also accepted. Another key focus of cell and tissue transplants is skin.

In Türkiye, skin donation remains among the least common types of organ donations. While some university hospitals have carried out localized initiatives, the creation of a nationwide system comparable to a blood bank marks a first.

Until now, the country’s largest such facility has been the skin and tissue laboratory in the southern province of Adana, set up under the coordination of the ministry.

It serves as a critical resource for treating patients with severe burns as well as in emergencies such as wars, natural disasters or mass-casualty incidents. Skin preserved at the center can be stored for two to five years and used for grafts in patients with extensive burns.