For example, if the surgeon removes a vertebra or disc, and has a gap to fill, he may place a chunk of bone graft into the space. Because bone is rigid, it will hold the bones apart while the body grows to the chunk of bone graft at either end. How long this takes depends on how big a piece of bone was used. It is a slow process that may take years. Bone taken from your own body is called autograft.
Bone graft taken from someone else is called allograft.
Allograft is usually removed from organ donors and placed in bone banks. The bone bank then sells the allograft to the hospital that performs your surgery. The cost will show up on your hospital bill. An allograft can come from many types of bones in many different forms, but because it is not taken from the patient, it does not contain any living cells and has fewer chemicals to stimulate growth of new bone. The disadvantage of an allograft is that it does not always heal as well or as quickly as an autograft.