Axogen sponsors 2022 Donate Life Rose Parade® Float to help raise awareness of organ and tissue donation

ALACHUA, Fla. and TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Axogen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXGN), a global leader in developing and marketing innovative surgical solutions for damage or transection to peripheral nerves, announced today that nerve repair patient Christopher (Chris) Brown has been selected to ride on the 2022 Donate Life Rose Parade Float. Additionally, organ and tissue donor Paul Flanders will be honored through a floragraph that will adorn the float. The parade will be held in Pasadena, CA on New Year’s Day as part of the annual Tournament of Roses^® celebration. This is the ninth year that Axogen has co-sponsored the Donate Life float to help raise awareness for the importance of organ and tissue donation.

Axogen is proud to honor and celebrate Paul and Chris as part of this year’s event. Paul, a newspaperman from the Northshore of Massachusetts, was an organ and tissue donor whose selfless gift of life has helped numerous organ and tissue recipients.

For Chris, the gift of nerve tissue donation has helped him reclaim his quality of life. A traumatic accident led to the amputation of his right arm and caused unrelenting chronic pain. He was unable to work, sleep, or function in daily life. Pain medication provided little relief. Thankfully, Chris was referred to a surgeon who specializes in nerve repair. The surgeon explained that nerves injured during the amputation were the cause of the pain and recommended surgical nerve repair. During the procedure, several neuromas (a mass of scar tissue within the nerve) that were the source of the pain, were surgically removed. Chris’s nerves were then reconstructed and reconnected using donated nerve tissue (processed nerve allograft) to bridge the resulting nerve gaps and restore normal signals to his brain. Thanks to a donor’s gracious gift, Chris is back to work, spending time with his family, and living pain free.

“Chris is one of many tissue recipients whose lives have been positively affected by the generosity of donors like Paul,” said Karen Zaderej, chairman, CEO, and president of Axogen. “Thanks to the gift of donated tissue and the work of organizations such as Donate Life, we are able to help improve quality of life for patients with nerve injuries.”

The 2022 Donate Life float theme is Courage to Hope, which aims to expand beyond Donate Life’s initial focus on education to celebrate perseverance and strength, science and scientists, health professionals, first responders and essential workers. The float is the centerpiece of a national effort of more than 50 organizations to spread the important message that donation saves and heals lives.

Axogen works year-round to support organizations like Donate Life and encourage organ and tissue donation. Register today to become an organ, eye or tissue donor by visiting www.DonateLife.net.

About Donate Life America
Donate Life America (DLA) is a nonprofit organization leading its national partners and Donate Life State Teams to increase the number of donated organs, eyes and tissues available to save and heal lives through transplantation while developing a culture where donation is embraced as a fundamental human responsibility. 

DLA manages and promotes Donate Life℠, the national brand for the cause of donation; motivates the public to register as organ, eye and tissue donors; provides education about living donation; manages the National Donate Life Registry at RegisterMe.org; and develops and executes effective multi-media campaigns to promote donation. 

About Axogen
Axogen (AXGN) is the leading company focused specifically on the science, development, and commercialization of technologies for peripheral nerve regeneration and repair. Axogen employees are passionate about helping to restore peripheral nerve function and quality of life to patients with physical damage or transection to peripheral nerves by providing innovative, clinically proven, and economically effective repair solutions for surgeons and health care providers. Peripheral nerves provide the pathways for both motor and sensory signals throughout the body. Every day, people suffer traumatic injuries or undergo surgical procedures that impact the function of their peripheral nerves. Physical damage to a peripheral nerve, or the inability to properly reconnect peripheral nerves, can result in the loss of muscle or organ function, the loss of sensory feeling, or the initiation of pain.

Axogen's platform for peripheral nerve repair features a comprehensive portfolio of products, including Avance^® Nerve Graft, a biologically active off-the-shelf processed human nerve allograft for bridging severed peripheral nerves without the comorbidities associated with a second surgical site; Axoguard Nerve Connector^®, a porcine submucosa extracellular matrix (ECM) coaptation aid for tensionless repair of severed peripheral nerves; Axoguard Nerve Protector^®, a porcine submucosa ECM product used to wrap and protect damaged peripheral nerves and reinforce the nerve reconstruction while preventing soft tissue attachments; and Axoguard Nerve Cap^®, a porcine submucosa ECM product used to protect a peripheral nerve end and separate the nerve from the surrounding environment to reduce the development of symptomatic or painful neuroma. The Axogen portfolio of products is available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and several other European and international countries.

Contact:
Axogen, Inc.
Annette Ruzicka, Corporate Communications
aruzicka@axogeninc.com
Peter Mariani, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
InvestorRelations@axogeninc.com