SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ossium Health, a bioengineering company that built the world’s first bank of organ donor-derived bone marrow, announced that its abstract, "On-demand, High-quality Hematopoietic Stem Cells from Deceased Organ Donors," has been selected as a Top Poster at the 2026 Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) Annual Meeting in Atlanta. The poster will be featured in the curated Top Posters Tour, "Innovations in Cellular Therapies," on Sunday, Oct. 18, and displayed in a dedicated Top Poster area throughout the meeting.
AABB is an international, not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing transfusion medicine and biotherapies, with a professional community in more than 80 countries. Its annual meeting, held Oct. 17–19 this year, brings together physicians, nurses, scientists, researchers, medical technologists and other health care professionals from around the world.
"AABB sets the standards for biobanking and cellular therapy, so having this community recognize our work as a Top Poster means a great deal to our team," said Kevin Caldwell, CEO, Co-Founder & President of Ossium Health.
Ossium recovers bone marrow from the vertebrae of screened and consented deceased organ donors, then cryopreserves and banks it as HPC, Marrow so it is ready for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation on demand. To date, 29 patients have been transplanted with Ossium's bone marrow, some within 48 hours of a physician's request. The poster updates data previously published in Cytotherapy, with continued accrual following Ossium's process improvements in July 2024.
Key findings include:
- Viability: Median post-thaw CD34+ stem cell viability was 86%, with no significant difference between pre-freeze and post-thaw samples.
- Potency: Post-thaw colony-forming unit assays showed that the cells retain their ability to grow and differentiate.
- Engraftment: 100% of the 24 patients with engraftment data available at the time of abstract submission have engrafted.
- Safety: No clinically significant adverse events attributable to the product or excipients were reported.
The authors conclude that deceased donor bone marrow is a feasible and scalable off-the-shelf graft source for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, and a promising new source of starting material for emerging cell therapies.
"These data show that high-quality bone marrow from deceased organ donors can be recovered, banked and delivered when patients need it, often within 48 hours," said Erik Woods, Chief Science Officer, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President of Ossium Health. "Patients facing transplant should not have to wait on a donor search, and our bank is built so they don't have to."
Presentation details
- Title: On-demand, High-quality Hematopoietic Stem Cells from Deceased Organ Donors (P-BT-2)
- Session: Curated Top Posters Tour: Innovations in Cellular Therapies
- Date and time: Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, 12:15-1:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Georgia World Congress Center, Exhibit Halls B2–B3, Biotherapies Pavilion
- Presenter: Meghann Pierce, DNP, APRN, ANP-C, Medical Science Liaison, Ossium Health
- Authors: Erik J. Woods, PhD; Kevin Blankenberger; Nicholas Weinstein; Vicki Graves; Hans Nowak; Kelsey Musall; Sagar Munjal, MD; W. Scott Goebel, MD; Brian H. Johnstone, PhD
This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under Contract No. 75A50124C00032.
About Ossium Health
Ossium Health is a bioengineering company that leverages its proprietary organ donor bone marrow banking platform to develop stem cell therapies for patients with life-threatening hematologic conditions and musculoskeletal defects. Founded in 2016, the company is led by Kevin Caldwell, CEO, Co-Founder & President, and Erik Woods, Chief Science Officer, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President. Ossium’s manufacturing facility is registered with the FDA and its laboratory is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). For more information, visit ossiumhealth.com or follow the company on LinkedIn and X.
Media Contact:
Jane Griffin
Ossium Health, Inc.
415-513-5535
press@ossiumhealth.com
