THUNDER BAY — New equipment acquired by the Lake Superior Centre for Regenerative Medicine will make the city the first Canadian source for bone powder used in reconstructive surgery.
Thanks to $700,000 from FedNor and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, RegenMed is the country's first tissue bank to implement a cortical bone program.
Cortical bone is the dense outer surface of bone.
A specialized piece of equipment grinds donated bone into powder for medical purposes such as craniofacial reconstruction and oral surgery.
"We are thrilled to announce that after five years of work, and after securing that funding...we are launching Canada's first cortical bone program," said RegenMed executive-director David Stezenko.
"It's spectacular," Stezenko said in describing the significance of the development.
Up to now, he said, Canadian specialists including oral and maxillofacial surgeons and periodontists have had to procure cortical bone tissue from suppliers in the United States "at a pretty high price."
RegenMed already serves as Ontario's bone and connective tissue centre.
The non-profit facility is waiting to hear if Premier Doug Ford's government carries through with a commitment made by the Kathleen Wynne government last year to relocate the province's two other tissue processing centres to Thunder Bay.
In an emailed response to questions from Tbnewswatch, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said Wednesday that "the ministry is aiming to make a decision in the coming months on the next steps for Ontario's tissue-processing system."
Stezenko said if tissue processing is consolidated in Thunder Bay, RegenMed will need at least 30 new staff in the next five years.
