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State-of-the-art tissue bank facility holds grand opening

The center allows for expanded research and development, and increased efficiency.

The Community Tissue Center held a grand opening for it's new facility on Thursday, May 19. CEO Dr. David Smith talked about the life saving and changing work the facility performs and how tissue donor and recipient's stories are posted throughout the building.

Ty Greenlees The Community Tissue Center held a grand opening for it's new facility on Thursday, May 19. CEO Dr. David Smith talked about the life saving and changing work the facility performs and how tissue donor and recipient's stories are posted throughout the building.

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By Jacqui Boyle, Staff Writer Updated 12:25 AM Friday, May 20, 2011

KETTERING — The Community Tissue Services’ new center will make help the organization maintain its stature as a leading tissue banking technology center, officials said Thursday.

“There’s nothing else like us in the entire state of Ohio,” said Dr. David Smith, chief executive officer of CTS, who has worked for the organization for nine years. “We are very special and unique.”

Local dignitaries, medical professionals and tissue recipients from across the country celebrated the grand opening of the new 94,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art processing and distribution facility Thursday.

The new space, designed to be expandable, will allow CTS to expand research and development, processing and distribution of tissue-based grafts, products and medical devices.

Among its many perks, the new facility will allow for increased efficiency, Smith said. The Research and Development sector is adjacent to the 14 clean rooms where tissues are created.

“It makes us more like other major tissue banks,” Smith said.

CTS employs roughly 550 people nationwide, according to Smith. Approximately 400 employees are based in Dayton, with about 150 working at the new facility. Smith said he expects CTS will hire five to 10 more employees, or perhaps more.

CTS, part of the Community Blood Bank of Dayton, is the fifth largest tissue bank in the U.S. Last year, the organization distributed more than 165,000 tissue grafts.

Smith said the facility cost 10 percent under its $40 million budget. Construction took about a year and a half to complete, beginning in August 2009, and followed its intended schedule to the day, he said.

“It was one of the easiest projects we’ve ever been involved in,” he said. “There were literally no surprises.”

The organization will offer free tours of its new facility for anyone 12 and up on the fourth Saturday of the month, from June through November at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. To learn more, go to www.communitytissue.org.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2086 or jaboyle@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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