Spine Industry Innovator to Donate New Hero Tissue Product Sales Proceeds to Children’s Charities
Spinal Elements, an innovative spine technology company, today announced that it will focus on improving the image of tissue donation when it launches its Hero Allograft human tissue product at the upcoming meeting of the North American Spine Society (NASS) in Dallas, Texas later this month.
Human allograft tissue is tissue (including bone and other tissue) that is obtained by way of an authorized gift of a donor and/or their family. The authorization of the gift of tissue is governed by state laws and the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. Physicians use tissue allografts to save and improve the lives of more than one million Americans each year.
Spinal Elements chose to name its first-ever allograft tissue product “Hero” to honor those whose donation made the tissue possible. While many companies that offer human allograft tissue generate significant profits from their operations, Spinal Elements announced that it will donate its net proceeds from the sale of Hero Allograft to charities that benefit children with life-threatening medical conditions.
Spinal Elements launches Hero on the heels of the release of the book The Dark Side of Tissue Donation by Chris Truitt, which sheds light on the $1 billion annual industry that many know little about. While many people are familiar with organ donation, especially as it is portrayed on television or in movies, some organ donors are unaware they have also agreed to donate their veins, bones, skin and other tissues, which can be used not only to save a life but also to help a cosmetic surgery patient.
Truitt comments, “What Spinal Elements is doing by donating the net proceeds from the sale of Hero Allograft to charities that benefit children is unprecedented and extraordinary. It honors the altruistic and noble gift that families give.”
Todd Andres, CEO and co-founder of Spinal Elements, said, “We feel that the best way to pay respect to the donation of human tissue is to donate our efforts to get it to the patients who need it and to extend that gift to ailing children. We refer to that as honoring the gift and paying it forward.”
Jason Blain, president and co-founder of Spinal Elements, added, “While we constantly strive to produce technological innovations, we are proud to say that our greatest innovation is in exercising our compassion. We are honored to be stewards of this precious gift.”
Hero consists of various configurations of human allograft tissue including demineralized bone matrix (DBM) in paste or putty form, compressible cancellous blocks and strips, and structural grafts. These types of grafts are typically used in fusion procedures. For more information, please visit www.spinalelements.com/hero.
The NASS meeting will be held October 24th through 27th, and the company will have an exhibit at the meeting.
About Spinal Elements:
Spinal Elements, headquartered in Carlsbad, CA, is a spine technology company for spine surgeons who demand innovative, extremely high quality surgical solutions. From the company’s early work which helped make PEEK commonplace throughout the spine industry to our recent advancements in controlled delivery and stand-alone technology, Spinal Elements has built a reputation for being trustworthy, innovative and different. The company is focused on the development and marketing of progressive spinal treatment options and markets a complete portfolio of advanced spinal implant technologies across the globe. The company most recently launched its line of Lucent Ti-Bond™ products that feature a coating of plasma-sprayed titanium on PEEK interbody devices. For more information, please visit www.spinalelements.com.
About Knobbe Martens:
With over 275 lawyers and scientists nationwide, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP dedicates its practice to all aspects of intellectual property law including litigation. Consistently ranked among the top intellectual property firms worldwide, Knobbe Martens serves a diverse group of clients from multinational corporations to emerging businesses of all stages. Headquartered in Orange County, California, Knobbe Martens also has offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Seattle and Washington, D.C. More information about the firm can be found at www.knobbe.com.