Human Tissue-Based Product is ‘Service’ Under Illinois Law, Federal Judge Rules

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge has dismissed claims targeting a human tissue-based bone repair product, ruling they are barred by the state’s Blood and Organ Transaction Liability Act because the product can be defined as a “service” under the Act.

On Jan. 18, Judge Harry D. Leinenweber of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois explained that “services” as defined by the Act is a term of art which shields “every person, firm, or corporation” that participates in developing “blood products, blood derivatives and products, corneas, bones, or organs or other human tissue for the purpose …