Others feel that viability is unimportant because the grafts are only temporary. Fresh skin grafts are maintained in a fluid medium intended to keep the cells alive and nourished. Fresh storage will only maintain skin grafts for approximately 14 days. It may take upwards of 10 days to release tissue from quarantine due to bacterial and serologic testing therefore, most skin banks freeze their tissue grafts. Cryoprotectants are intended to minimize the freezing injury to cells.
Frozen grafts can have a shelf life of up to five years.
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