Spinal Elements Inc. to Announce Over $250,000 in Donations to Children’s Charities at NASS 2013
Carlsbad, Calif – September 24, 2013 – Spinal Elements, an innovative spine technology company, will officially celebrate the one-year anniversary of its Hero Allograft Launch at this year’s North American Spine Society (NASS) convention in New Orleans. The company will host a celebration at the New Orleans House of Blues on Thursday, October 10th, where it will announce that an estimated $250,000 for children’s charities will have been raised for from its Hero Allograft sales by the end of 2013.
A check presentation of $23,000 will be donated that night to the local Make-A-Wish chapter, and will be granted in honor of Dr. Mike Leahy, one of the first surgeons in the U.S. to participate in Spinal Elements “Pledge to Be a Hero” program. Dr. Leahy uses Hero allograft exclusively and is largely responsible for the program’s success to date. Dr. Leahy will be on hand with Jackie Heroman, of the Make-A-Wish Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana chapter, to accept the check along with a local New Orleans family who has received a wish and will talk about how much it has changed their lives.
Spinal Elements launched its national “Pledge to Be a Hero” program last year, which offers surgeons and hospitals across the country the opportunity to pledge to use only allograft tissue from companies that do not profit from the transfer of that tissue whenever clinically feasible. Allograft is human tissue that is obtained by way of an authorized gift of a donor and/or their family, and can then be turned into scores of medical products. Every year, 1.5 million of these products are given to American patients.
Spinal Elements chose to name its first allograft tissue product “Hero®” to honor those whose donation made the tissue donation possible. Although many companies earn significant profits from the sale of allograft, Spinal Elements has chosen to donate all profits from the sale of its Hero allograft to charities benefiting children with life-threatening medical conditions, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Hero was launched last year at the North American Spine Society (NASS) convention in Dallas.
“Spinal Elements sees Allograft as much more than a product or a commodity, “said Jason Blain, president and co-founder of Spinal Elements. “Allograft is the physical embodiment of a human life and deserves that level of respect. We are honored to be stewards of this precious gift.”
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.”
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 9-12, 2013 in New Orleans, LA at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Halls HIJ.
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 recent advancements in Ti-BondÒ bioactive interbody implants, 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. 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.
