(BPT) – In the United States, 26 million people have diabetes1 and fifteen percent of these can expect to develop a foot ulcer at some point in their lives.2,3 Now, Organogenesis, a commercial leader in the field of regenerative medicine, has launched Fight4MyFeet, an educational program and online resource focused on proper foot care within the diabetic community.

“Patient education around proper diabetic foot care is critical as diabetic foot complications are the most common cause of nontraumatic lower extremity amputations in the industrialized world,” said Dr. Gary Gibbons, a vascular surgeon and Medical Director, South Shore Hospital Center for Wound Healing. “Fight4MyFeet.com is an excellent new resource, looking to lower the incidence of diabetic foot amputations while promoting proper foot care among the diabetic community.”

Fight4MyFeet is designed to help people with diabetes fight for their feet by providing them with easy-to-understand information about diabetic foot ulcers, tips and tools they can use to ensure their feet are protected and an opportunity to learn from other patients who have successfully managed their chronic foot wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers.

Join the fight and learn more about proper foot care by visiting www.Fight4MyFeet.com.

What is a Diabetic Foot Ulcer?

For people with diabetes, the body is not able to make enough insulin, causing sugars to build up in the blood. Over time, high blood sugar can lead to numbness and other problems with the feet, as well as poor blood flow. People with diabetes might step on a sharp object and not even feel it,5 resulting in wounds that are slow to heal. These wounds are referred to as diabetic foot ulcers.6,7

About Fight4MyFeet

Fight4MyFeet is a program sponsored by Organogenesis Inc., the makers of Apligraf®, focusing on optimizing wound healing for diabetic foot ulcers and helping to establish appropriate wound healing protocols. For more information, visit www.Fight4MyFeet.com.

About Organogenesis Inc.

Having pioneered the field, Massachusetts-based Organogenesis Inc. is a world leading regenerative medicine company focused in the areas of bio-active wound healing and oral regeneration. The company’s mission is to bring the medical marvel of regenerative medicine products to patients and to standardize their use in everyday medical care. For more information, visit www.organogenesis.com.

1 National diabetes fact sheet, 2011. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/ndfs_2011.pdf. Accessed September 27, 2013.

2 Reiber GE, Ledoux WR. Epidemiology of diabetic foot ulcers and amputations: evidence for prevention. In: Williams R, Herman W, Kinmonth AL, Wareham NJ, eds. The Evidence Base for Diabetes Care. West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.;2002:641-665.

3 Reiber GE, Boyko EJ, Smith DG. Lower extremity foot ulcers and amputations in diabetes. In: Bowker JH, Pfeifer MA, eds. Levin and O’Neal’s The Diabetic Foot. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby Elsevier;2011:409-428.

4 Diabetic foot ulcers: prevention, diagnosis and classification. American Academy of Family Physicians website. http://www.aafp.org/afp/1998/0315/p1325.html. Accessed October 4, 2013.

5 Parmet S, Glass TJ, Glass RM. JAMA patient page. Diabetic foot ulcers. JAMA. 2005;293(2):260. http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=200153. Accessed September 27, 2013.

6 Diabetes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. www.cdc.gov/media/presskits/aahd/diabetes.pdf. Accessed September 27, 2013.

7 CDC features—Living with diabetes: keep your feet healthy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. http://www.cdc.gov/Features/DiabetesFootHealth/. Accessed September 27, 2013.