Community Tissue Services Celebrates The Grand Opening of Its New Facility

Community Tissue Services of Indianapolis, Indiana (CTS-I) will be opening its doors to the public on Wednesday, June 9, 2004, from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m., as the local tissue bank celebrates the Grand Opening of its new facility at 7770 E. 88th Street. “As a not-for-profit tissue bank, we feel it is important for the community to visit our facility and learn the importance of tissue donation,” stated Community Tissue Services Chief Operating Officer Diane Wilson.

It is estimated that close to 1 million tissue transplants are performed in the United States each year. One tissue and organ donor can save and/or improve the quality of life of up to 75 people. Tissues that can be donated include:

• Skin grafts used as a temporary covering to reduce pain and lower the risk of infection to patients with severe burns. Donor skin can make the difference between life and death.
• Bone grafts used to repair or replace bone after serious injury, bone cancer, or crippling diseases.
• Ligaments and tendons most commonly used to repair athletic related injuries, such as knee and achilles injuries.
• Heart valves used to repair congenital heart defects.
• Saphenous veins used for vascular disease surgeries, such as a heart by-pass surgery.
• Femoral veins used for shunts in dialysis patients.
• Corneas used to restore sight to people with decreased vision or blindness.

The Indianapolis branch works closely with the local medical community to provide quality products and services as well as provide in-service training. Educational programs on donation are offered to local schools and colleges, and speakers are also available for social and civic groups.

CTS-I offers support to the families that have consented to donation. There is no cost to the donor’s family or estate for tissue and organ donation.

CTS is an accredited member of the American Association of Tissue Banks and ISO 9000:2001 registered. Community Tissue Services is a provider of tissue grafts such as skin, bone grafts, tendons, and ligaments to more than 2000 hospitals and physicians in the United States.

Community Tissue Services (CTS), a department of Community Blood Center, is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. CTS is composed of seven regional offices located in Dayton, Ohio; Fort Worth, Texas; Portland, Oregon; Fresno, California; Indianapolis, Indiana; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Toledo, Ohio. CTS serves the public through procurement and distribution of human tissue donations used for transplantations. CTS has become one of the largest tissue banks in the country, and the largest non-profit provider of skin grafts to surgeons for severe burn patients.

For more information about CTS, visit www.communitytissue.org or contact Amy Moeder, Public Relations/Marketing Coordinator at (800) 684-7783, ext. 3364.

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