A Certified Tissue Bank Specialist (CTBS) designation is a

professional certification Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply ''certification'' or ''qualification'', is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications ...

mark for Tissue Banking Professionals conferred by the

American Association of Tissue Banks The American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB); a transplant trade organization that is dedicated to ensuring that human tissues intended for transplantation are safe and free of infectious disease, of uniform high quality, and available in quant ...

(AATB). AATB oversees

musculoskeletal The human musculoskeletal system (also known as the human locomotor system, and previously the activity system) is an organ system that gives humans the ability to move using their muscular and skeletal systems. The musculoskeletal system prov ...

cardiovascular The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...

and

reproductive The reproductive system of an organism, also known as the genital system, is the biological system made up of all the anatomical organs involved in sexual reproduction. Many non-living substances such as fluids, hormones, and pheromones are als ...

tissue banks in the United States. To receive authorization to use the designation, the candidate must meet

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, examination,

experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...

and

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

requirements, and pay an ongoing certification fee. Certification as a Tissue Bank Specialist requires Tissue Banking staff to be familiar with the Standards published by AATB, as well as the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

promulgated standards of CFR 21, parts 1270 and 1271, and Guidance for Current Good Tissue Practice. The candidate must achieve a passing grade on an exam administered by AATB, which is currently a 72% (87/120 questions). An additional 10 questions may appear on the exam and are for research purposes only. Certification as CTBS lasts for a cycle of three years, during which an individual must accrue 40 CEUs in relevant specialties to retain certification.

References

Tissues (biology) Transplantation medicine {{Job-stub