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<\/a>One of the best-known examples of therapies that come from the human body is organ transplantation. Stem cell banks, as well as the use of blood and blood derivatives for healing are also used in a unified, clear and well-organized system, said Dr. Zolt\u00e1n Szab\u00f3, the head of the tissue therapies, tissue bank technologies and management course to be launched at ETK. In his view, however, there is not yet decades of similar experience behind the therapeutic use of solid tissues. Moreover, these should be considered much rather as raw materials that still require further preparation before they can be used, such as tissue engineering work that requires a special technology, and a tissue bank background.<\/p>\nDuring the half-year ETK course, students will learn among others about the three main groups of solid tissues used for therapy, which are the cornea (the transparent front part of the eye), connective tissues (bone, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, skin, etc.) and cardiovascular tissues (heart valve, vascular grafts). In certain cases, these tissues can be acquired from living people as well; for example, the bone parts that are removed and become \u201csuperfluous\u201d during hip replacement surgery can be reused as bone replacements. In other cases, tissues used for therapy can be gained from deceased persons (e.g. cornea, heart valve), but \u2013 unlike with organ transplants \u2013 it is not necessary that the donor be brain-dead.<\/p>\n
\u201cETK is the first in the region to introduce a tissue therapies course; following this year\u2019s pilot semester, the regular course will begin in the anniversary academic year of 2019\/20,\u201d said Dr. Zolt\u00e1n Zsolt Nagy, dean of the faculty, adding that the elective course will be available for undergraduate students. It is no coincidence that ETK is offering this course: it is a rising trend in western Europe that, especially in the cases of bones and connective tissue, highly qualified professionals perform the explantation, that is, the removal of the tissue material, under the oversight of a physician. The course will be basically a theoretical one, since this is the first time the topic is addressed in Hungarian higher education, but later postgraduate training focused on developing manual skills could be built upon it as well.<\/p>\n