Officer - Tissue Bank (Homograft Valve Bank)

About the role

SEHA is hiring an Officer for its Tissue Bank at SKMC in Abu Dhabi. The role covers the establishment and operation of the Homograft Valve Bank, including tissue procurement, processing, quality and regulatory compliance, inventory, reporting and staff supervision.

Key responsibilities

• Coordinate the setup, commissioning and operational readiness of the Homograft Valve Bank, and oversee installation, validation, maintenance and monitoring of equipment and storage systems.
• Develop workflows for safe and efficient tissue banking and support future expansion of tissue banking and transplant-related services.
• Coordinate donor tissue procurement with transplant coordinators, donor hospitals, cardiac surgeons and retrieval teams, ensuring donor screening, testing, eligibility assessment and documentation.
• Coordinate retrieval, transportation, processing, cryopreservation, storage, quality assessment and release of homograft valves, vessels, patches and other approved tissues, maintaining full chain of custody.
• Maintain SOPs, policies, forms, quality records and documents needed for licensing, accreditation, inspections and audits, and ensure compliance with SKMC, PureHealth, the Department of Health and other regulators.
• Participate in audits, quality improvement initiatives and corrective and preventive action processes.
• Manage inventory of consumables, reagents and laboratory supplies, and liaise with Biomedical Engineering, Facilities Management and vendors on equipment maintenance and liquid nitrogen supply.
• Maintain accurate records of tissue banking activities, analyse operational data and KPIs, and prepare reports for hospital administration, quality teams, PureHealth and the DOH.
• Train, supervise and assess the competency of HVB personnel, delegate responsibilities and ensure 24-hour coverage, while promoting a culture of quality, safety and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with Cardiac Surgery, Transplant Services, Operating Rooms, CSSD, Microbiology, Pathology, Nursing, Biomedical Engineering, Facilities and Supply Chain, and with donor hospitals and transplant teams.