Check out the FOX story here: http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-donatelife-120609,0,5087399.story

Orthopedic spine surgeons at the event told us how powerful AlloStem Stem Cell Bone Growth Substitute, a new bone growth substitute made from adult stem cells, will be as a biologic solution. The second product we introduced, AlloWrap Natural Wound Cover, is a natural biological wound cover that has shown impressive results in animal studies.

This was a key industry meeting for us, as AlloSource is now the world’s largest processor of live cellular bone growth substitutes – an accomplishment we’re very proud of. At the show we mingled with some of the world’s spine care leaders; there were nearly 4,000 in attendance from all over the globe.

Check out our brief video (above) for a tour of the AlloSource booth at the event.

AlloStem Stem Cell Bone Growth Substitute, an adult human stem cell bone graft, is recovered from adult human adipose tissue and is processed and cryopreserved by AlloSource into a stem cell bone graft used by surgeons to promote bone growth and healing. Adipose tissue is a rich source of a wide variety of stem cells, and some laboratory studies indicate it is the human body’s primary source of stem cells.

Surgical patients are already benefiting greatly from these stem cell grafts in spinal fusions, and when used to repair bone fractures and breaks. More than 30,000 patients have received adult stem cell grafts.  AlloStem Stem Cell Bone Growth Substitute presents patients and hospitals unique benefits not only because of its scientific capabilities, but also because its cost is significantly lower than other bone grafting options currently in use.

Or, learn more about skin allografts used for the treatment of burns, including function, structure, donor recovery and clinical application.

The following byline from AlloSource has appeared in hundreds of media outlets around the country

Amidst the constantly changing world of medicine, innovative research from some of the world’s leading surgeons is finding new ways to use donated human tissue to treat a host of medical conditions.

Registered donors and their families donate this allograft tissue in the same way organs are donated. It is used in many life-saving and enhancing medical procedures already, with numerous new opportunities on the horizon.

“Many people don’t realize it, but donated human tissue is used in many surgical applications, saving peoples’ lives and limbs daily,” says Dr. Ross Wilkins from the Denver Clinic for Extremities at Risk, a highly specialized group in the management of conditions and diseases that place people at risk of losing a limb. “Allograft tissue is used to replace damaged structures in the body, from the ligaments and tendons of major league sports players, bones and joints of military men and women, to the musculoskeletal structures, teeth, skin and spinal components of average citizens.”

AlloSource, one of the nation’s largest accredited tissue processing facilities, recently provided tissue to a man severely injured on a construction site. After a crane on the site hit a power line, Manuel Salazar was struck by 150,000 volts and was severely burned and lost both arms and both legs. First, allograft skin was used to cover his severe burns, then allograft bone and tissue were used to help build him a new arm and shoulder, so he could be successfully be fitted for a prosthetic arm and once again complete everyday tasks such as brushing his teeth and scratching his head.

“Donated human tissue has completely changed my life,” says Salazar. “Although I was forever changed by my accident, the new possibilities that allograft tissue have provided for me have restored my hope.”

On New Years Day Salazar will be sponsored by AlloSource to appear in the 2010 Rose Parade aboard the Donate Life float entitled New Life Rises. Salazar will join 23 other riders representing millions of people touched by organ and tissue donation, including donor families, living donors, transplant recipients and transplant candidates.

Dr. Wilkins and plastic surgeon Dr. William Brown operated on Salazar and have innovative surgeries for many patients using human allograft tissue for promoted healing, growth or reconstruction.

“The possibilities for the use of human tissue in modern medicine are truly thrilling,” Wilkins says. “Soon, we will know more about the growth biology of the human body, about regenerating bone and tissue and using donor stem cells to re-grow physical structures. We’ll have more of the information we need to achieve long-term success with groundbreaking procedures such as full limb transplantation.”

Currently, physicians of different specialties are working together to solve some of the most difficult issues in limb reconstruction. Surgical teams from the Denver Clinic for Extremities at Risk and Colorado State University Animal Cancer Center have devised a method for live, full joint transplants. Additional work is needed to learn how to safely block rejection.

“As more people learn about these remarkable discoveries and choose to be tissue donors, we will be able to find new ways to maximize those gifts and surgical teams will be able to provide patients with restored function and movement we only dream about today,” says Thomas Cycyota, chief executive officer of AlloSource.