The bones were returned after a two-year legal fight. It was like she was dying over and over again. The Red Cross, which has its West Coast tissue center in Costa Mesa, chalks up the mistakes to human error. And prices are rising. Industry officials say higher processing costs have led to steeper prices.
Costs can vary by hundreds or thousands of dollars.
The revenue helps nonprofit banks cover perks and salaries normally associated with private business. The biggest deal in the industry was struck 13 years ago. Osteotech opened its doors in New Jersey without access to bodies. The publicly traded company is now the nation's largest producer of bone products. The Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation is the world's largest.