Updated data show stem cell viability is preserved through cryopreservation and 100% engraftment in evaluable transplant recipients
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.
