Community Tissue Services' National Research Center Unveiled

Organization Celebrates its Impact on the Nation with Official Grand Opening

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May 19, 2011, 08:00 ET

DAYTON, Ohio, May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Tissue Services (CTS) announces today that its new Center for Tissue, Innovation and Research, 2900 College Drive, Kettering, Ohio is in full operation, and already serving hundreds of surgeons and patients around the country. To celebrate this milestone, an official grand opening will be held at the site tonight featuring keynote presentations by local dignitaries, medical professionals and tissue recipients from across the United States.

CTS will further its mission of saving and enhancing lives in the new 94,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility designed to expand research and development; processing; and distribution of tissue-based grafts, products and medical devices. With eight branch locations in the United States, the Ohio Center serves as the nucleus for CTS' network by providing tissue grafts to support its local branch hospitals, surgeons and patients. Expanded operations at the Center will also further position CTS as a prominent leader in tissue banking technology by meeting the escalating demands from medical professionals nationwide.

"This is a very exciting time in CTS' history," said Dr. David Smith, president & CEO. "It is truly an honor and privilege to be entrusted with someone's final gift of life and help create a new legacy for so many people in need of tissue grafts. Our new Center provides a technologically advanced research site filled with the most skilled and compassionate professionals in the industry. We are well prepared to provide innovation, excellence and rapid response to help save and enhance more lives. This is our mission. This is our passion."

With a steadfast goal to continue exceeding expectations on every level of the tissue banking process, the new Center was built to accommodate a 10-year growth plan to prepare CTS for the growing future of regenerative medicine. "We have a multidisciplinary team of scientists and laboratory technicians who work to discover and implement innovative solutions that advance tissue transplant technology," said Dr. Smith. "Our work will expand in the years ahead and we will build upon this first-rate team to help fulfill our mission of providing quality tissue grafts to medical professionals and patients worldwide."

For more information on CTS, visit www.communitytissue.org or call 937.461.3364. To view the heartfelt stories of tissue donors and recipients, and learn how you can become involved, visit CTS at www.fiftylives.org.

About Community Tissue Services

Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, Community Tissue Services (CTS) is a nonprofit quality, ethical provider of services to recipients, donor families, medical communities, and community partners through the respectful recovery, processing and distribution of tissue grafts. CTS, an accredited member of the AATB, is one of the largest nonprofit tissue banks in the United States and operates regional offices in California, Texas, Indiana, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Idaho and Ohio. In 2010, CTS distributed more than 165,000 tissue grafts to 2,000 hospitals, physicians and surgeons.