Suitability of Fetal Tissues From Spontaneous Abortions and From Ectopic Pregnancies for Transplantation

Objective. —To assess the potential availability and utility of fetal tissues obtained from spontaneous abortions and from ectopic pregnancies for human transplantation therapy. Design. —Tissue collection and analysis by personnel skilled in tissue banking. Setting. —Procurement programs in five tissue banks located in diverse geographical areas that are funded by the National Institutes of Health. Patients. —All women entering obstetric clinics during 1993 who consented to participate in the study. Interventions. —None. Main Outcome Measures. —Evaluation of the products of conception by standard developmental, histological, microbiological, and cytogenetic criteria. Results. —From 22235 obstetric admissions, 1250 spontaneously aborted embryos and 247 products of ectopic pregnancies were obtained. Of these, seven embryos (0.5%) were potentially useful for human transplantation therapy. Conclusion. —Fetal tissues from spontaneous abortions and from ectopic pregnancies are quite limited as feasible sources for human transplantation therapy. ( JAMA . 1995;273:66-68)