Our Background

The ATBF is a not-for-profit organisation inaugurated in 2000. Its mission is to foster and promote best practice in the retrieval, preparation, storage and distribution of human tissue for transplantation throughout Australasia.

The Australasian Tissue & Biotherapeutics Forum (ATBF) is an organisation representing Tissue Banks throughout Australasia. A "Tissue Bank" is defined as an organisation that retrieves, processes, and/or distributes human tissue for transplantation.

Tissue Banking exists primarily because of the generosity and goodwill of tissue donors and their families. This generosity needs to be respected and its benefits maximised. As a result the ATBF has embraced the following objectives:

• To foster and promote best practice in the retrieval, preparation, storage and distribution of human tissue for transplantation throughout Australasia.
• To provide expert advice and guidance to those public authorities responsible for controlling and licensing Tissue Banks.
• To provide continuing education of Tissue Bank staff.
• To collaborate with and foster a close working relationship with the professional associations involved in the transplantation of banked tissues.