Mission Statement

The heart valve bank, European Homograft Bank (EHB), has been set up in 1989 in order to respond to the growing request of cardiac surgeons for quality controlled Cryopreserved heart valve homografts. It is located in the Military Hospital Queen Astrid in Brussels where it benefits from the excellent facilities of the Brussels Skin Bank.

EHB has been conceived as an open non-profit-making organization in accordance with the European recommendations and Belgian legislation on Tissue Banking. EHB is based on the cooperation of an international network of procurement and implantation centres. The aim is to store and offer to the surgeons a fair number of various sized aortic, pulmonary and mitral human valves.

Since 1992, EHB also prepares and distributes large arteries, namely ascending and descending aortas, aortic bifurcation and superficial femoral arteries.

Distribution of the homografts is not exclusive but depends in priority on the clinical indication. On the other hand, implanting surgeons are invited to contribute directly or indirectly to the procurement of donor hearts and large arteries according to the EHB selection criteria. Other aims of EHB are inter-bank cooperation and basic as well as clinical research.