Placental tissue grafts
A method for preparing placenta membrane tissue grafts for medical use, includes obtaining a placenta from a subject, cleaning the placenta, separating the chorion tissue from the amniotic membrane, mounting a selected layer of either the chorion tissue or the amniotic membrane onto a drying fixture, dehydrating the selected layer on the drying fixture, and cutting the selected layer into a plurality of tissue grafts. Preferably, the drying fixture includes grooves or raised edges that define the outer contours of each desired tissue graft, after they are cut, and further includes raised or indented logos that emboss the middle area of the tissue grafts during dehydration and that enables an end user to distinguish the top from the bottom side of the graft. The grafts are comprised of single layers of amnion or chorion, multiple layers of amnion or chorion, or multiple layers of a combination of amnion and chorion.
1. A dehydrated, laminated bilayer tissue graft consisting of
a) a washed, cleaned and dehydrated amnion layer isolated from a placenta;
b) a washed, cleaned and dehydrated chorion layer isolated from a placenta;
wherein the amnion layer consists of an epithelial cellular layer, a basement membrane, a compact layer, and a fibroblast cellular layer, and further wherein the chorion is in direct contact with the amnion and the two layers are laminated together.
2. The dehydrated, laminated tissue graft of claim 1 , wherein the amnion layer and the chorion layer are isolated from the same placenta.
3. The dehydrated, laminated tissue graft of claim 1 , wherein one or both of the amnion layer and the chorion layer are treated with an antibiotic prior to lamination.
4. The dehydrated, laminated tissue graft of claim 1 , wherein the tissue graft has been exposed to sterilizing conditions.
5. A dehydrated, laminated bilayer tissue graft, wherein the tissue graft consists of an amnion layer and a chorion layer, wherein the amnion layer consists of an epithelial cellular layer, a basement membrane, a compact layer, and a fibroblast cellular layer, and wherein each of the amnion and chorion layers:
a) is separated from a placenta to provide separated layers of amnion and chorion;
b) is washed and substantially cleaned while retaining the fibroblast cellular layer on the amnion layer; and
c) is layered directly over the other and heat dehydrated and laminated to provide the dehydrated, laminated bilayer tissue graft.
6. The dehydrated, laminated tissue graft of claim 5 , wherein at least one of the amnion layer or chorion layer has been chemically decontaminated.
7. A dehydrated, laminated placental tissue graft which is a laminate consisting of two washed layers,
wherein a first of said layers is an amnion layer which consists of an epithelial cellular layer, a basement membrane, a compact layer, and a fibroblast cellular layer, and a second of said layers is (i) amnion that consists of an epithelial cellular layer, a basement membrane, and a compact layer; (ii) amnion that consists of an epithelial cellular layer, a basement membrane, a compact layer, and a fibroblast cellular layer; or (iii) chorion,
wherein the first and second layers are dehydrated and laminated to each other;
and wherein the layers were separated prior to being laminated to each other.