The Repair Stem Cell Institute (which I founded) has just issued a press release- we wanted to touch on Senate Bill (SB) 1565 in California which was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, not a good move in our opinion. However, we also wanted to praise the people who brought Senate Bill 1565 up to pass, at least it shows people are finding out that adult stem cell therapy is the Gold Standard in stem cells and has the most potential to bring cures to Californians and the rest of the world. We would like to single out (thank) California State Senator Shelia Kuehl for pushing the bill forward. Here is our press release in its' entirety:

BANGKOK, Thailand, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- "California State Senator Shelia Kuehl's leadership role in Senate Bill (SB) 1565 is strong action by a prominent Democrat to bring 'adult stem cell research to the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) as the viable and credible life science that it is," stated Don Margolis, Chairman of The Repair Stem Cell Institute (RSCI; www.RepairStemCells.org), a public service company devoted to educating the public about adult stem cell research and treatments worldwide.

"Adult stem cells are now the 'gold standard' and the only stem cells which have any chance to help people in the next decade," declared Margolis. "But embryonic profiteers and their biotech lobby have politically influenced CIRM, creating a taxpayer-funded embryonic stem cell corporate 'welfare' program that hasn't produced even one possible medical treatment. In fact, because they have no viable path to any embryonic stem cell cures, CIRM has already thrown away $271 million of its $3 billion fund to help finance construction of expensive biotech research facilities for the very institutions which have failed to find a way to implant embryonic cells into humans, or even animals for that matter. And now Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed Senator Kuehl's legislation which may have led to adult stem cell research, thus delaying access to long-proven safe and effective therapies for people suffering with 100+ diseases."

According to Margolis, "The only good news out of this situation is that a Democratic leader from the largest state in the union has stood up to the powerful embryonic stem cell lobby and taken a valiant stand for citizens. Senator Kuehl must have done her research about adult stem cells. She may have checked the U.S. Government website (www.clinicaltrials.gov) and found for herself a list of over 2000 clinical trials, most of which are already implanting adult stem cells into humans for specific diseases such as cancer, heart, diabetes and others. She most likely saw that embryonic stem cell clinical trials are in the single digits with no human and no diseases involved. Or perhaps, Senator Kuehl and her fellow Democrat legislators visited http://www.RepairStemCells.org/StemCellTreatmentCenters.php for RSCI's comprehensive listing of stem cell treatment centers and doctors/researchers meeting the Institute's 'Standards of Excellence' and are collectively treating 100+ medical conditions."

Margolis had one last word for Gov. Schwarzenegger: "You defended your veto last week by claiming that California voters originally supported only embryonic stem cell research. That's just not true, Governor. They voted for Proposition 71, which specifically included 'adult stem cells'. Read the law, Governor!"

About RSCI:

The Repair Stem Cell Institute LLC (RSCI) is a global public service firm dedicated to educating the public about repair stem cell/adult stem cell research and treatments worldwide. RSCI was founded in April 2008 and is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand with offices in Dallas, Texas and Washington, D.C.

SOURCE Repair Stem Cell Institute LLC

I hesitate to post this story because there are no names mentioned. The story just mentions an NFL player and doesn't give his name- "NFL Player Avoids Liver Transplant By Stem-Cell Treatment"

Who is it? Is it a current player? A former player? Tom Brady?

Later on, the story mentions the company is headed by a "Stanford law school graduate"- again, no names- he is embarrassed because he didn't pass the bar exam?

Here it is in its entirety:

NFL Player Avoids Liver Transplant By Stem-Cell Treatment

October 6, 2008 -- The treatment according to his US Physician was so successful he will not require the liver transplant he was scheduled for in the near future. The most visibly apparent change has been in his appearance due to a drop in his bilirubin level from 6 to a 2 which is close to normal for person of his build and height. It has returned his skin from yellowish to a normal healthy look. In addition, his meld score has dropped in a short period of time from 20 to below 16 and is quickly heading lower.

The treatment was arranged by Stem Cell Regenco, a Silicon Valley company headed by a Stanford law school graduate that holds exclusive rights to the Russian stem cell treatment protocol of Dr. GT. Sukhikh one of the world's foremost stem cell physcians. The treatment is in lieu of a liver transplant and eliminates the danger of a liver rejection and the necessity of taking organ anti-rejection drugs for the rest of a patients life at a cost of $12,000 a year. It is particularly effective in repairing liver damage caused by hepatitis B , C and Cerrosis.

And here is the link

I post this story because it may be of possible benefit to some readers who have a liver condition. I also post it as a lesson on how not to do a press release. As the stem cell treatment industry is rather new, more openness is needed by this company and others. No, I'm not asking for 8 years of clinical trials and double blind studies before a treatment for the liver is used and thus relegating patients in the meantime to a liver transplant or worse.

Imagine if the NFL player (even if he wasn't a star player) had given his permission to use his name as an example to the rest of the world rather than staying anonymous- that my friends, would make this story very much newsworthy rather than raising some questions from yours truly- who already is a believer in adult stem cell treatment.

Here is another recent story on stem cell therapy for the liver

This story I bring you today is a very nice one written by the father of a young man who was saved by a stem cell transplant. The young man, Yosef Eliezrie, in Los Angeles, was suffering from Leukemia and needed a bone marrow (stem cell) transplant to save his life. Unbeknown to him, the process of saving his life had begun 2 years before he was even diagnosed with leukemia during a bone marrow drive half way around the world :

It's hard to believe that a bank could save a life. But that is exactly what happened to my son in California.

Twenty-two months ago he had a bone marrow transplant. The donor, Moshe Price, is a young yeshiva student in Jerusalem. Walking one day together with his sister, he noticed a sign on the wall of the Bank of Jerusalem advertising a bone marrow drive. In a split second he made the decision to walk inside, and he and his sisters became members of the Ezer Mizion Bone Marrow Project.

Two months ago I had taken a tour group to shop in Mea She'arim. I decided to take a detour and I walked into the bank on Rehov Ya'acov Meir. The bank is nestled in the midst of the religious neighborhood of Geula, adjacent to Mea She'arim. The managers, tellers and all the staff are religious.
I walked over to the manager's office and stuck in my head. In Hebrew and Yiddish I told him the story. "You remember the bone marrow drive you did here some four years ago?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Well, it saved my son's life."

The reaction was astonishment. A bone marrow drive, that was a nice idea, but to be told by the father of the recipient, from California no less, that it saved a life, that the decision to use the bank for the drive would have such palpable results, was a quite a surprise. The staff gathered around; the Internet was checked for articles about the story. The "wow" effect was amazing.

That is why I keep hammering you readers to go to the Bone Marrow donor website- and register your bone marrow. Or see this organization I wrote about here.

You can make a difference. And Yosef's father says it best at the end of his story- So if someone tells you that you can't save a life, and your actions don't really make a difference, don't believe it. A small decision on Rehov Ya'acov Meir in Geula gave life to another person on the other side of globe.

Click here to read the whole thing

While I usually cover stories involving blind children who are able to see for the first time(here, here, and here), these children usually have optic nerve conditions. But the cornea is a different part of the eye and as such requires a different treatment. Although I was aware that Dr. Edward Holland in Cincinnati has had some success treating blind patients with cornea problems, I had never heard of it elsewhere- until today.

And just like last Friday's story on stem cell therapy for the spinal cord, this is taking place in India- who I must say seem to be far ahead of the rest of the world as far as making adult stem cell therapy AVAILABLE as a treatment.

Here is more of this story:

MUMBAI: Abhishek Sharma, a 34-year-old from New Delhi, can not only read the fine print of Sidney Sheldon and Harry Potter books without straining his eyes, but also ride a bike as easily as anyone else. Besides, he can complete his assignments as a business development manager at a top insurance firm.

All this is a far cry from his sorry state ten years ago, when he couldn't even see a person a step away. Towards 1998 end, his corneas dried up, blurring his vision.
Meetings with various doctors, coupled with treatments covering allopathy, homeopathy and ayurveda, followed but to no avail.

Finally, Sharma's parents decided to allow their son to take corneal epithelial stem cell therapy, which involves taking stem cells from his parents' eyes (as both of Sharma's eyes were damaged), culturing and injecting them into his eyes.

The therapy, handled by eye surgeon Virender Sangwan at Hyderabad's LV Prasad Eye Institute in 2000-01, worked wonders and restored Sharma's eyesight, making him one of the first people in the country to undergo this therapy. Today, the father of two leads a comfortable professional and personal life. Restoration of vision through this therapy helped Sharma continue his education and become a manager in his company.

Since then, corneal epithelial stem cell therapy is gradually emerging as a new ray of light for those who have lost their vision as a result of chemical burns or drug reactions. If a patient's one eye is damaged, the stem cells from the good eye can be taken for therapy.

If the damage is to both eyes, the treatment no longer needs stem cells from a close relative's eyes (like in Sharma's case) as it did earlier. Doctors are successfully using stem cells from under the lips of the patient, called oral mucosa tissues, said Geeta K Vemuganti, head (ocular pathology services) at LV Prasad Eye Institute, which has till date operated on over 600 patients.

“Stem cells inside the cheeks of the patient can also be used for treatment. As the patient's own tissues are used, the risk of rejection is negligible and there are no side-effects, said an eye surgeon from Madurai's Aravind Eye Hospital, which has treated about 12 patients through this therapy.


Hospital and founder of Krishna Eye Centre in Mumbai. So far, at both LV Prasad and Aravind, the success rate has been 60-70%, that is, 60-70% of the patients have got back over 70% of their vision.

In case of the rest, vision has been restored only to the extent of 30-40%. The treatment costs Rs 15,000-20,000 depending on the level of damage to the eye.

20,000 Rupees?? That is approximately $425 for a stem cell treatment that has no negative side effects and works 60-70% of the time?!!!!! And even in the unsuccessful patients, their vision still improves slightly? I say it again- I wish adult stem cell treatment was available all over the world like it is in India.

Click here for the whole article

This story I bring you today is very nice.  In fact, it is wonderful.  There is a government run hospital in India that is treating spinal cord injury patients with their own adult stem cells at affordable rates.

This is what I have in mind for the United States, Europe, Asia  etc.  That is why I formed my Repair Stem Cell Institute .  I wanted to make Adult Stem Cell therapy available and affordable to all.  I call adult stem cells the greatest medicine the world has ever known- a medicine with no side effects whose only job is to repair.

Well, these folks in India are ages ahead of the US.  Here is some more of this story:

The city finally got a dedicated centre that offers stem cell therapy for spinal cord injuries at affordable rates. The civic-run Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital inaugurated the state's first Stem Cell Genetic Research Centre on Tuesday.

“Of the eight patients to whom we have provided the stem cell treatment, six have shown positive results, said Dr Prerna Badhe, stem cell consultant at the the hospital.

Now, read this next paragraph carefully- they sum up what I have been trying to communicate to the general public for the last 5 years of my life!

“Stem cell therapy is also known as replacement therapy or regenerative therapy. It multiplies, connects, releases neurotransmitters, acts as growth factors, revascularises and reduces scar formation. Also, it has no side effects. It does not require immunosuppressants which are painful, said Dr Badhe. “It promotes growth of damaged tracts, bridges the lesion sites, repairs damaged nyelin, replenishes cells lost in the injury. It's better than drugs and biomedical devises. The stem cell therapy has minimal or no reactions and preserves the biological process, said Dr Badhe.

Imagine if this was available in every hospital in your city.  Receiving a treatment that most of the time will help you with serious injuries/conditions/diseases, but even in the worse case scenario, will simply have no effect because you are using your own stem cells to help.

Click here to see this story about the hospital in India that helps spinal cord injury patients