Dear colleagues,

Over the past year, I've encountered an ongoing issue concerning the haemostatic sponges utilized in tissue block explant culture. Specifically, I've been using the Surgispon brand, but in recent months, I've observed a significant decline in cell viability, even as early as one day post-culture, accompanied by a substantial increase in cell debris.

Have any of you experienced similar challenges with Surgispon? Additionally, I'm seeking recommendations for alternative brands that may offer more reliable performance. I've heard of Dengofoam and Hemosponge and wonder if any of you have had positive experiences with these or other brands.

Our suspicion is that Surgispon may have undergone changes in their quality control processes. In our latest purchase, we even noticed rapid liquefaction of the sponges in the culture medium.

In reference to one of the original papers guiding our research (Grivel, JC., Margolis, L. "Use of human tissue explants to study human infectious agents." Nat Protoc 4, 256–269 (2009)), Gelfoam was utilized. If any of you have insights on its performance compared to Surgispon or other alternatives, I would greatly appreciate your input.

Thank you in advance.

Best regards, David Perea.