THUNDER BAY – If the province doesn’t support RegenMed then Ontario’s only tissue and bone bank could shut down, warns a city councillor.
City delegates returned from the 2012 Association of Municipalities Ontario conference in Ottawa last week. The conference allowed municipalities a change to meet provincial ministers face-to-face to discuss issues facing their cities.
Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs, coun. Joe Virdiramo, Ken Boshcoff, Brian McKinnon and city manager Tim Commisso all attended the conference.
One of the goals of the conference was to advocate for RegenMed. The delegates requested the province match what the city has already provided to RegenMed in order to keep the company afloat.
The not-for-profit bone and tissue bank has faced financial troubles since opening and has requested assistance from the city. The city has provided an interest free loan not exceeding $250,000 last May with monthly installments of $50,000 on top of a $500,000 donation.
The company has about a month left of that funding before requiring another source of assistance.
Virdiramo said one of the selling points for RegenMed when they pitched it to the minister was that it would save the province money. But if the company doesn’t receive some provincial assistance, it could mean the end of Canada’s only bone and tissue bank, he said.
“An allograft from the United States I understand costs about $600,” Virdiramo said.
“RegenMed can do it about $250. Do the math. RegenMed is at a point where if they don’t get more money they may very well shut down. It would be a sad day if that happens.”
Commisso pointed out that Quebec has a similar organization that handles more than 900 donors and the largest Ontario-based company that’s filling the same need is RegenMed with 60 donors with the capacity to take 200 donors.
He said RegenMed has the potential to become Ontario’s bone and tissue bank.
“It’s tight but we’re hoping by the end of September we can get some kind of commitment,” Commisso said.
“We’re trying to get the province to understand that this is really in the interest of the province. You don’t need to start up another organization you already have it here. They have increased their sales with I believe six or eight contracts with national sales firms. But the reality of it is they are a small organization trying to operate in a big way. They are trying to do everything.”
He also mentioned that city officials will be meeting with Minister of Health and Long Term Care Deb Matthews on Sept. 11 to discuss RegenMed as well as other health-related issues.
Hobbs said the request is similar to the one they do with Superior North EMS. When the city purchases a new ambulance, the EMS matches the prince 50/50, he said.
The delegates also advocated to the Canadian Blood Services to make RegenMed one of the possible three or four main tissue processing centres in Canada.
