Ossium Health data on on-demand organ donor bone marrow selected as a Top Poster at the 2026 AABB Annual Meeting. 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. "Patients facing transplant should not have to wait on a donor search, and our bank is built so they don't have to." "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," "These data show that high-quality bone marrow from deceased organ donors can be recovered, banked and delivered when patients need it, often within 48 hours," "Patients facing transplant should not have to wait on a donor search, and our bank is built so they don't have to." 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. "These data show that high-quality bone marrow from deceased organ donors can be recovered, banked and delivered when patients need it, often within 48 hours," said Erik Woods, Chief Science Officer, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President of Ossium Health. "Patients facing transplant should not have to wait on a donor search, and our bank is built so they don't have to." Presentation details * Title: On-demand, High-quality Hematopoietic Stem Cells from Deceased Organ Donors (P-BT-2) * Session: Curated Top Posters Tour: Innovations in Cellular Therapies * Date and time: Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, 12:15-1:00 p.m. ET * Location: Georgia World Congress Center, Exhibit Halls B2-B3, Biotherapies Pavilion * Presenter: Meghann Pierce, DNP, APRN, ANP-C, Medical Science Liaison, Ossium Health * Authors: Erik J. Woods, PhD; Kevin Blankenberger; Nicholas Weinstein; Vicki Graves; Hans Nowak; Kelsey Musall; Sagar Munjal, MD; W. Scott Goebel, MD; Brian H. Johnstone, PhD This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under Contract No. 75A50124C00032. About Ossium Health Ossium Health is a bioengineering company that leverages its proprietary organ donor bone marrow banking platform to develop stem cell therapies for patients with life-threatening hematologic conditions and musculoskeletal defects. Founded in 2016, the company is led by Kevin Caldwell, CEO, Co-Founder & President, and Erik Woods, Chief Science Officer, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President. Ossium's manufacturing facility is registered with the FDA and its laboratory is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). For more information, visit ossiumhealth.com or follow the company on LinkedIn and X. Media Contact: Jane Griffin Ossium Health, Inc. 415-513-5535 [email protected]

In observance of World Marrow Donor Day: honoring the people who carry its donors' legacy forward. Every September, the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) marks World Marrow Donor Day, a global day to say #ThankYouDonor to the millions of people who register, donate, and give patients a second chance at life through stem cell and bone marrow donation. This year's observance falls on September 22, and Ossium Health is proud to participate as a Bronze Partner. Most World Marrow Donor Day tributes go directly to donors. Their generosity is the reason this day exists. At Ossium, its path to honoring donors looks a little different. The donors who make its work possible are deceased organ donors whose bone marrow gifts can become a source of life-saving cell therapies. While Ossium Health, Inc. cannot thank these donors ourselves, Ossium Health, Inc. can honor their generosity, remember the lives behind every donation, and recognize the people who help carry their legacy forward. Today, in observance of World Marrow Donor Day, Ossium Health, Inc. want to recognize its recovery partners. Ossium's recovery partners include organ procurement organizations and recovery professionals across the country who care for donors and donor families during some of life's most difficult moments. They approach families with compassion, help communicate what donation means and what it can make possible, coordinate the donation process, and provide support and aftercare that extends far beyond recovery. Their work creates the bridge between a family's decision to donate and the patients who may one day receive a transplant made possible by that gift. In the spirit of WMDA's Hope Heroes campaign, Ossium Health, Inc. believe these partners deserve recognition as well. Hope Heroes can be found throughout the journey to transplantation, from the people who support donors and families to those who coordinate care and ultimately help bring a stem cell therapy to a patient in need. Its recovery partners play an essential role at the very beginning of that journey by caring for the donors and families who make it all possible. Ossium Health, Inc. is grateful for every organ procurement organization that partners with Ossium and entrusts Ossium Health, Inc. with the opportunity to extend a donor's gift through bone marrow donation. Ossium Health, Inc. also want to recognize its past Top Recovery Partners of the Year, whose teams have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to Ossium's mission and to honoring the gift of donation: 2025: Legacy of Life Hawai'i 2024: LifeGift Texas 2023: Gift of Life Michigan 2022: Donor Network of Arizona Each represents a different community, but all share something fundamental: a commitment to donors and donor families, and the possibility that one person's gift can continue to create hope for others. Thank you for caring for donor families. Thank you for honoring the wishes and generosity of donors. Thank you for trusting Ossium Health, Inc. to help carry those gifts forward. And most importantly, thank you for helping make it possible for someone else to receive a second chance at life. Join its team. At Ossium, Ossium Health, Inc. is always looking for talented, mission-driven people.