Centennial, Colorado-based AlloSource, has announced the upcoming retirement of President and CEO Tom Cycyota. In these roles for 22 years, Cycyota is credited with stewarding more than three million allografts for use in surgical procedures.
“My career at AlloSource speaks to the amazing possibilities of donated human tissue. It has been a great honor to serve as AlloSource’s President and CEO, supporting its transformation and incredible growth in both the number of patients and surgeons we served as well as the amazing technologies we pioneered,” said Cycyota. “I want to offer my sincere thanks to our employees and recovery partners whose hard work and dedication have allowed us to achieve so much over the last 22 years. I also want to thank AlloSource’s customers, partners, communities, and Board of Directors for their ongoing support.”
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, the management team, and AlloSource’s employees, we want to thank Tom for his leadership and impact over his more than two decades with the organization,” said Diane Brockmeier, AlloSource Board Chair. “Tom’s legacy is more than AlloSource’s growth. We are grateful for his passionate leadership, which forged many business relationships and friendships. His personal compassion and commitment to honoring donor families has served as the centerpiece for the AlloSource culture. Please join me in thanking him for his commitment to AlloSource and its employees, as well as the organ, eye, and tissue donation community. We wish him nothing but the best in this next chapter.”
“We are entrusted with an irreplaceable gift of donated human tissue,” stated Cycyota to OTW. “From those who made the selflessness decision to donate at the time of death, we are able to transform tissue gifts into lifesaving and life-enhancing allografts. During my tenure, we have developed several innovations including living cartilage allografts with the help of our colleagues from UCSD, the first mesenchymal stem cell allograft, and cryopreserved cartilage allografts. We have learned to maximize the use of these gifts to provide optimal patient outcomes for our surgeons, all while being true to our non-profit mission. In addition, I have always been incredibly proud of our AlloSource associates and their tireless efforts to maximize the gift of donation for patients around the world.”
When OTW asked about plans for the next 10 years, Cycyota noted, “We have just begun to scratch the surface on unlocking the full potential of donated tissue and cells. I use the word cells purposefully because one of the true miracles is that donor cells stay alive after the donor has passed on. The next ten years will see more utilization of these cell-based products in biotech applications. Donated cells and tissue will help cure diseases, and we’re just at the beginning of that research right now. There is a great deal to be excited about human tissue banking and I can’t wait to see what the next decade will bring for AlloSource.”
