RTI Biologics Donates Allograft Tissue to CURE International for Surgery to Help Honduran Child

RTI Biologics Donates Allograft Tissue to CURE International for Surgery to Help Honduran Child

ALACHUA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- RTI Biologics Inc. (RTI) (NAS: RTIX) , a leading provider of orthopedic and other biologic implants, recently donated several BioSet® RT Allograft Paste implants to Lemoyne, Pa.-based CURE International. The paste, a demineralized bone matrix (DBM), was used Sept. 18 during a surgery to remove a large, benign cyst from the pelvic bone of an 11-year-old patient in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Nalleli Fernandez, center, with her family at CURE Honduras, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on Sept. 18, 2012. Photo is courtesy of CURE International.

According to Ted Beemer, M.D., medical administrator/surgeon for CURE Honduras, the cyst extended from the front of the patient's pelvic bone to her sacroiliac joint and caused extreme pain, presumably due to the weakening bone directly over the hip joint and adjacent to the sacroliliac joint. The patient was confined to walking with crutches for two months leading up to the surgery due to pain and fear of further collapse of the bone around the hip joint. The donated allograft paste was needed because obtaining sufficient autograft — tissue from one's own body — risked weakening the side used for walking during the surgery recovery period.

"The surgery went well, and I fully expect her to make a complete recovery thanks to the substantial allograft donation by RTI," Beemer said. "I am certain that her recovery would have been significantly deterred if we had needed to take that much autologous bone from her other side and/or lower extremities. In fact, she would have been confined to a wheelchair for weeks instead of being able to walk with crutches.

"We are very appreciative to RTI Biologics for its donation. It made a huge difference in this child's treatment and will continue to affect her recuperation."

Since it was established in 2004, CURE Honduras has provided life-changing orthopedic treatment for thousands of children in Honduras. The hospital, which does not turn away anyone under the age of 19, regardless of whether or not they can afford care, serves approximately 4,500 patients each year and performs about 550 operations.

"Our mission at RTI is to improve lives through biologic solutions to achieve life-restoring and life-saving results," said Brian K. Hutchison, president and CEO. "Over the years, we have provided numerous allograft donations such as this, and we will continue to do so. We take great pride in playing a part in helping those in need return to their normal activities."

Allograft is tissue surgically transplanted from one person to another. Most allograft tissue is recovered surgically after someone dies. The donor must have consented to the donation before death or the donor's family must consent after death. Tissue transplantation can have many benefits for recipients, including repairing tissue defects caused by trauma or disease, restoring mobility and regaining independence in daily activities. The selfless gift made by donors and their families saves the quality of life for patients globally.

Allografts are used as an alternative to synthetic and metal implants. However, unlike synthetic or metal implants, allografts are a natural and biocompatible scaffold, allowing the recipient's body to remodel it into his or her own tissue over time. Using allograft tissue rather than an autograft eliminates a second surgical site, allowing the recipient to avoid additional pain, risk and a possibly longer hospital stay. In addition, in some cases, it is not possible to obtain an autograft, so allografts are a natural solution.

RTI uses stringent donor screening, laboratory testing and proprietary, validated sterilization processes to ensure patients' safety. These redundant safeguards provide the highest level of confidence that patients will receive safe, high quality tissue. RTI honors the gift of tissue donation by treating the tissue with respect, by finding new ways to use the tissue to help patients and by helping as many patients as possible from each donation.

About CURE International

CURE International is the largest provider of reconstructive surgery to disabled children in the developing world and operates hospitals and programs in 25 nations. Since opening the doors of its first surgical teaching hospital in Kijabe, Kenya in 1998, CURE's focus on bringing healing to developing nations has resulted in more than 1.8 million patient visits and over 128,000 surgeries to correct physically disabling conditions. CURE has also trained more than 5,200 medical professionals raising the standard of care in the countries where it operates. To learn more, visit www.cure.org.

About RTI Biologics Inc.

RTI Biologics Inc. is a leading provider of sterile biologic implants for surgeries around the world with a commitment to advancing science, safety and innovation. RTI prepares human donated tissue and xenograft tissue for transplantation through extensive testing and screening, precision shaping and using proprietary, validated processes. These allograft and xenograft implants are used in orthopedic, dental and other specialty surgeries.

RTI's innovations continuously raise the bar of science and safety for biologics - from being the first company to offer precision-tooled bone implants and assembled technology to maximize each gift of donation, to inventing validated sterilization processes that include viral inactivation steps. These processes — BioCleanse®, Tutoplast® and Cancelle™ SP DBM — have a combined record of more than four million implants distributed with zero incidence of implant-associated infection. These processes have been validated by tissue type to inactivate or remove viruses, bacteria, fungi and spores from the tissue while maintaining biocompatibility and functionality.

RTI's worldwide corporate headquarters are located in Alachua, Fla., with international locations in Germany and France. The company is accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks in the United States and is a member of AdvaMed.

Additional photos available upon request.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50423482〈=en

RTI Biologics Inc.
Jenny Highlander, APR, 386-418-8888, ext. 4149
Manager, Corporate Communications
jhighlander@rtix.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Central America Florida Pennsylvania Honduras

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