The following editorial appeared Wednesday in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Sometimes government isn’t big enough or intrusive enough. As Exhibit 1, we offer the case of Philip Joe Guyett Jr.

He deals in body parts – tissue from the dear departed that is used in knee repairs, spinal surgery and other medical procedures nationwide. Or, more correctly, he used to do that. The Associated Press reports that federal officials in Raleigh, N.C., shut him down earlier this month, claiming his products are a danger to public health. Many supposedly come from a funeral home embalming room.

For the record, Guyett denies any wrongdoing.

Tissue from dead people is used widely in the United States in a variety of medical procedures that improve the quality of life for recipients.

The nonprofit Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation says transplantation has become routine – bone, skin, corneas, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, arteries, veins and heart valves – and that one person may supply many parts. It tells of a volunteer firefighter whose donated tissues were transplanted into 422 people.

But the foundation also talks of the extensive testing it does to be sure the tissue is safe.

“At the MTF, technicians in masks and full body suits quarantine the bone and freeze it for at least fourteen weeks – the first step in an extensive effort to ensure that it is safe for transplantation,” the foundation says on its Web site. “At the end of this ‘sterility hold,’ the bone is tested and sterilized at high temperatures – all in accordance with rules and guidelines established by the FDA, state governments, and the American Association of Tissue Banks.”

Precautions are wise, given that carelessly handled material or material from suspect sources carries the risk of disease and contamination.

The Food and Drug Administration has oversight responsibilities in the United States, and it has issued rules. But one other step that it should take is to require those who supply tissue to doctors and hospitals to follow the standards established by the American Association of Tissue Banks.

That’s simple enough. And it shouldn’t require a lengthy study.