Bone marrow transplants can be life-saving for patients suffering from certain types of cancer, blood disorders and other illnesses, but for many patients, finding a compatible bone marrow transplant can take months or years.
Each year in the United States, approximately 18,000 people are diagnosed with deadly diseases that could potentially be successfully treated with bone marrow donation.
To improve these patients’ chances of receiving life-saving treatment, bioengineering company Osium Health has developed a program to provide frozen bone marrow from deceased organ donors.
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Earlier this year, a 68-year-old Michigan woman became the first person to receive a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor to treat blood cancer after a four-month search failed to find a compatible donor.
Each year in the United States, approximately 18,000 people are diagnosed with deadly diseases that could potentially be successfully treated with bone marrow donation. (iStock)
The patient, who had acute myeloid leukemia, underwent the transplant at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan, and doctors say she is now “making a rapid recovery.”
“We were apprehensive because there had been no precedent for using bone marrow from a cadaver,” Dr. Mounir Abidi, a hematologist at Henry Ford Health who led clinical trials for Osium’s bone marrow product, told Fox News Digital in a call with reporters.
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“Despite some anxiety and worry, we were pleasantly surprised and delighted that her (stem cell) count recovered strongly, roughly in line with the time frame expected for a typical healthy donor.”
Bone marrow barrier
According to Ossium Health CEO Kevin Caldwell, bone marrow transplants are the final treatment for patients with blood cancer.
In the current healthcare system, blood cancer patients who need a bone marrow transplant must find a healthy living volunteer who is a good match.
“There was no precedent for using bone marrow from a cadaver, so I was nervous.”
“Many other organs can be taken from one person and transplanted into another person of a similar size, but bone marrow has to be very close genetically,” Caldwell said in a conversation with Fox News Digital.
And the process is not easy, he noted.
“Donors must be ready, willing and able to donate bone marrow for a complete stranger, drilling a hole in their hip to draw out the bone marrow and harvest the stem cells — taking a few days off work and making a meaningful sacrifice for someone they’ve never met,” Caldwell said.


Bioengineering company Osium Health has developed a new program to provide frozen bone marrow harvested from deceased organ donors. (Osium Health)
There’s also the issue of timing.
“Finding a genetic match who is healthy and willing to donate can take months, but blood cancer patients often don’t have that time,” Caldwell said.
About 55 percent of blood cancer patients undergo transplants successfully, but the remaining 45 percent do not, and most of those do not survive, he noted.
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Another widespread problem, Abidi said, is the difficulty minorities, especially African-Americans, have in finding a perfectly matched donor.
“The problem has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he told Fox News Digital.
Meeting your needs
To address these issues, Ossium Health has developed a bone marrow bank harvested from organ donors.
“We’ve created a network of 27 organ procurement organizations across the country that manage organ donations, obtain consent and retrieve organs,” Caldwell said.


Osium has begun a clinical trial (PRESERVE I) to donate bone marrow to patients with acute leukemia who require allogeneic (genetically similar) transplants. (Osium Health)
“We train them how to harvest the bone marrow, build a facility to process and manufacture doses for patients, and freeze and store them on site.”
Caldwell said the goal is to harvest and donate bone marrow, just as other organs, including the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, corneas and skin, have been done for decades.
“Before Osium, these donor bone marrow – the life-saving stem cells that reside within the donor’s vertebral bodies – had not been used,” Caldwell said.
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“Despite the fact that these people consented to donating their organs, they will be discarded.”
Osium has begun a clinical trial (PRESERVE I) to donate bone marrow to patients with acute leukemia who require allogeneic (genetically similar) transplants.
The first patient enrolled in the trial, a woman from Michigan, underwent a transplant in May 2024 through Osium’s HOPE program.


The ultimate goal, according to Osium’s CEO, is to “dramatically expand” the pool of bone marrow stem cells from deceased organ donors to fight cancer. (iStock)
“Today she is alive and well and recovering well from blood cancer because we had a bone marrow unit that was a match for her and was able to save her life,” Caldwell said.
“This case illustrates how important this new option is for patients in critical need.”
Advantages of cryopreserved bone marrow
Using bone marrow from deceased donors has several advantages, Caldwell said, but the biggest benefit is being able to use a larger portion of the organ.
“Because our donors no longer need bone marrow, we are able to recover much more bone marrow than we could ethically take from a living person who still needs bone marrow to survive,” he said.
On average, Caldwell says, two to five times more cells can be harvested from an organ donor than from a living person.
“Because donors no longer need bone marrow, we can recover much more bone marrow than we could ethically take from a living person.”
“That could mean we could perform multiple transplants from one donor and save many lives.”
In other cases, larger doses of stem cells could potentially be administered, improving patient outcomes.
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“For the first time in history, doctors have the ability to choose how much of a drug to give to their patients, similar to how you decide the dosage when prescribing a medication,” Caldwell told Fox News Digital.
Instant availability is also a big advantage, Abidi added.
“The product is already available and has been collected, and we know exactly where it is stored,” he said.


Ossium has built a facility to process, manufacture and cryopreserve bone marrow on-site for patients.” (Osium Health)
“Looking for a healthy donor can take more than three months from start to finish. But in this case, once a match is identified from our inventory, the product can be shipped virtually the next day.”
For patients with leukemia and other malignant diseases, this immediate access could mean the difference between life and death, Abidi said.
Consent and Regulation
Donors on the Osium platform have a “double consent,” Caldwell said.
The first step is to consent to be an organ donor, which usually happens at the DMV.
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, about 170 million people are registered as donors.
Ossium follows a second consent process after the donor’s death.
“We also get consent from families to see if their loved one wants organ donation,” Caldwell said. “In most cases, the family respects that decision.”


According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, about 170 million people are registered as donors. (iStock)
Caldwell said cryopreserved bone marrow is not a drug and is not significantly different from live bone marrow, so it is not subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.
“The FDA does not regulate bone marrow transplants from living donors. The FDA considers it to be exactly the same as an organ transplant,” he said.
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After Ossium completed its product and facility, it sent the process and data to the FDA, which confirmed that the company did not need oversight.
“But we’re doing the research anyway to generate a data set that will allow bone marrow transplant physicians to use this product with their patients,” Caldwell said.
Looking to the future
Since the first transplant on a patient in Michigan, a second transplant has been performed in Utah, and more are planned, Caldwell said.
“We’re really excited about the results of our first few patients,” he said.
Ossium now plans to make the data publicly available to encourage participation in clinical trials.
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The ultimate goal, Caldwell said, is to “dramatically expand” the pool of bone marrow stem cells from deceased organ donors to fight cancer.
“Leukemia is a treatable cancer if we can find a donor early,” Caldwell said.
“We don’t want someone to die because of a logistical problem.”
“We don’t want anyone to die because of logistical issues. We want to see a world where almost everyone who needs a bone marrow transplant can get one.”
While Ossium’s platform is currently focused on treating blood cancers, it could benefit patients in other ways in the future, Caldwell said.
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“Clinical stem cell banks could have many other applications, including organ transplants without immunosuppression and preventing organ rejection,” he said.
“Once more patient and donor safety data becomes available, this will undoubtedly be a very exciting addition,” Abidi added.