Türkiye Unveils Nationwide Tissue and Cell Banking System

The Turkish Health Ministry has revealed the introduction of a national tissue and cell banking system aimed at addressing 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, The Caspian Post reports citing Turkish media.

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.