AATB sent a letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, urging the Agency to revise the final skin substitute payment rate of $127.14/cm2 in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Final Rule. While AATB recognizes the need for skin substitute payment reform, the final payment rate is unsustainably low and would force many members to lay off employees, reduce output, suspend clinical studies, and scale back the research and development efforts that lead to new therapies and improved patient outcomes. Patients in rural areas, who already suffer from a lack of healthcare providers and advanced technologies, would face the greatest impact due to a geographical adjustment policy that lowers reimbursement even further. AATB requested that CMS revise the payment rate before it takes effect on January 1, 2026. AATB’s full letter can be found on the Government Advocacy Correspondences page of the AATB website.

AATB sent a letter to Dr. Marty Makary, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, regarding a recent shift in the Agency’s approach to sepsis in donor eligibility, highlighted by a 483 observation issued to an accredited AATB member. The letter emphasizes that medical directors are best positioned to assess risk at the time of a patient’s death and that a formulaic approach based solely on a sepsis diagnosis fails to reflect the complexity of clinical practice and modern medical record documentation. AATB also highlighted that rigid exclusion based on a prior sepsis diagnosis could reduce donor availability by roughly 25 percent, as demonstrated in the updated Sepsis Pilot Study Report, which presents the same data as the original September 2024 study but now formatted with standard statistical reporting. AATB has requested a meeting with Dr. Makary in January 2026 to present these concerns in more detail and discuss evidence-based policy solutions to ensure safe and available donor tissue. AATB’s full letter can be found on the Government Advocacy Correspondences page of the AATB website.

AATB distributed an Accredited Institution Satisfaction Survey on Monday, December 1 to each Accredited Institution's Primary Establishment Contact (formerly MwER). Your feedback is essential in helping us identify areas for improvement and new ways to better serve our community. The survey will remain open until Monday, December 15, 2025. If you did not receive the survey, please check your spam folder. For questions or assistance accessing the survey, contact footmanj@aatb.org. Thank you for taking the time to share your input!

Thank you to everyone who completed the 2025 Member Satisfaction Survey! We appreciate your time and thoughtful input, which continues to guide our efforts and strengthen the AATB Community. Congratulations to the following randomly selected participants, each of whom has won a $100 Amazon gift card.

phys.org
Scientists have shown that tiny electrical pulses can guide stem cell growth and shape their development, paving the way for advanced tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications.

Futurity
Scientists at UC Riverside have created the first fully synthetic brain tissue model without animal-derived materials, offering a stable platform for neurological research and drug testing while reducing reliance on animal brains.

ScienceDaily
Cedars-Sinai researchers developed TY1, a synthetic RNA drug that enhances DNA repair and tissue healing, offering potential treatments for heart attacks and autoimmune diseases.

SciTechDaily
Researchers at RMIT University have developed molybdenum-oxide nanodots that selectively kill cancer cells by inducing oxidative stress while largely sparing healthy tissue, offering a promising path toward gentler and more targeted cancer therapies.

NCHstats
Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a nanotechnology-based method that enables aging cells to regain energy by transferring healthy mitochondria from neighboring cells, potentially transforming treatments for heart disease, neurodegeneration, and other energy-related conditions.

In today’s fast-paced world, trainers are expected to juggle teaching alongside their everyday roles, but are they truly set up to succeed? Join us on December 17 for “Training and Support: Employee Retention.” This webinar will explore what makes a strong trainer support program, how to design effective lessons, and how to meet learners where they are. You’ll walk away with practical strategies to strengthen both trainers and trainees, ensuring a lasting impact. Register today to secure your place in this session!
Target Audience: This webinar is for training professionals, education coordinators, supervisors, and team leads in tissue banking and related fields who are responsible for developing, mentoring, or supporting staff.

Seattle, Washington: This research opportunity is with the McElrath Lab within the Vaccine & Infectious Disease Division. Under supervision of a staff scientist, the position will be responsible for design and implementation of full-length viral sequencing, optimizing and development of high-complexity molecular assays such single cell-based assays such as SMART-seq to characterize vaccine induced cellular and molecular immune responses. They will be responsible for performing a variety of molecular and cellular biology techniques independently and coordinating some assays with other technicians. They will be involved in data management, interpretation and reporting on experimental results and assist with data presentation for lab meetings, conferences and manuscripts. They will maintain detailed laboratory records including reporting experimental results. They will assist in the development and maintenance of laboratory quality control (QC) methods and records, which may require adherence to GCLP (Good Clinical Lab Practice) standards.

Great Falls, Montana: Assists the department pathologists (3 physicians) in performing gross surgical exams, frozen sections, fresh specimens e.g. breast margins, and autopsies based on criteria that is documented in operation protocol (only 2 autopsies over last 5 years). Receives, accessions, and accurately processes surgical, autopsy, or diagnostic tissue specimens from various hospital departments and physician offices. Performs other work in clinical Laboratory and Histology as requested. Demonstrates the ability to deal with pressure to meet deadlines, to be accurate, and to handle constantly changing situations. Demonstrates the ability to deal with a variety of people, deal with stressful situations, and handle conflict. Requirements: Master's degree and certification as a Pathology Assistant or completion of Pathology Residency Program and at least one (1) year related experience.

Ann Arbor, Michigan: In alignment with Gift of Life Michigan’s core purpose and core values, the Manager, Tissue Recovery is responsible for developing, and implementing quality processes throughout the tissue department, to include; managing the daily activities of tissue operations, monitoring technical quality and proficiency of the tissue procurement specialist (TPS) staff, overseeing hiring, training and evaluation of TPS staff, monitoring donor record documentation, maximizing tissue gifts and participating in data analysis to include tissue recovery data, dry run cases, error rates, contamination rates, etc. The person in this role will be responsible for the oversight of Gift of Life tissue recovery facilities and will act as administrator on-call for the purposes of triage of donor logistics & personnel management. If needed, they will also recover musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and nerve tissues, facilitate cases and act as a lead to the recovery team.