Well, I am happy to see the Repair Stem Cell Institute is making a little progress in their goal of adult stem cell awareness. Rebecca Taylor at the Mary Meets Dolly Blog just recently found our website www.repairstemcells.org. and blogged about it:


If I had Parkinson's or diabetes or any other degenerative disease, I would be hopping mad. Why? Because of the insistence of the American media and some politicians that embryonic stem cell research is the only hope for regenerative medicine, when in other countries treatments with adult stem cells ARE ALREADY BEING USED WITH SUCCESS!!!!!

Now, I am not saying that the Repair Stem Cell Institute is curing people left and right (even they don't say that) or that they are 100% reputable. (Don- we just provide the information, not the actual treatments) What I am pointing out is they have a list of diseases that they are willing to treat that is enormous. If I was sick, I would find more hope there, than in Senator Obama's empty rhetoric and the so-called cures from embryos that are decades away.

Wake up America! Regenerative medicine is happening NOW, just not here. If we can just get our heads out of our "you-know-whats" long enough, we may begin to see that arguing over left-over embryos is getting us nowhere!.

I want to say that the Repair Stem Cell Institute does not treat people, we just want to point patients in the right direction to receive adult stem cell treatment because as Rebecca says- this debate over embryonic stem cells is getting America nowhere. Therefore, while the USA sits in neutral, the rest of the world is actually treating patients now!

See Rebecca's post in full and check out a very nice blog and informative website while you are there:

http://www.marymeetsdolly.com/blog/comment.php?type=trackback&entry_id=695

Another family must go from the United States all the way to China for stem cell treatment. This time it involves 18 month old Luke Pickett, suffering from cerebral palsy. What is especially nice in this story is how the Pickett family raised the $30,000 needed to go to China to help their son:

Since May, the Picketts have been raising money for the travel and transplant expenses to get to China, which will cost about $30,000. After six events, including a golf tournament, a silent auction and a 5K run, family, friends and the community have raised enough money to meet the financial demands of the procedure. They've also given emotional support to the family by offering prayers and sending cards that have stacked up on the Picketts' countertop.

Cheryl Pickett talked about the help her family has received, "The response has been overwhelming. I never thought we'd raise $30,000," the stay-at-home mom said with tears. "You always hear about the economy. We're hurting, too. We're a single-income family, and people who have never met us are sending money."

The Picketts said they chose China over other countries that offer the procedure such as Costa Rica because they heard positive outcomes from other parents on online support groups. Although they were told by their doctors there is no definitive evidence that the treatment works and by Beike Biotech that the company offers no guarantees, the stories of other parents seeing improvements in their children is enough reason to take a chance.

Well, as I have documented in this blog, we have seen many successful stem cell treatment stories coming out of Beike Biotech in China- I wish the Picketts all the best.

A side note- after this article on the Picketts was published, Luke's Aunt sent in this comment-

Thank you for publishing such an educational and touching story. I am Luke's aunt from Ohio, and this is
definately a current issue that needs to be
discussed and people need to learn more about, I know
our family has. It's also something our government needs
to be discussing and helping with so families can stay here and receive the assistance they need.
Thank you again
Cathy Haumesser

Yes, I agree Cathy, the technology (adult stem cells) is available NOW! Why aren't we using it to help patients NOW?????
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That's what I'm calling for- adult stem cell research to be exact.  And to accomplish that goal, I've just added two new members to the Repair Stem Cell Institute's science advisory board.  And I just put out a press release to spread the news.  Here's an excerpt:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Repair Stem Cell Institute (RSCI) today announced two additions to its world-leading Science Advisory Board (SAB), extending its stem cell research proficiency in the process. Don Margolis, RSCI chairman, noted that "Our first five appointees had two things in common: pioneering stem cell research and successfully helping patients with a variety of illnesses considered incurable. Today we add two Massachusetts researchers, David Matzilevich, M.D., Ph.D. and Mariano Ubeda, M.D., Ph.D. thus stretching our expertise to fields not being covered by others. They fit well with our innovative five."

According to Margolis, the two new additions cover still more ground. "Dr. Matzilevich's focus is on adult stem cell and cord blood uses as well as molecular-based approaches to Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder, and he is contributing greatly to these fields. Dr. Ubeda has made significant scientific contributions to the field of chronic degenerative diseases, and is working on advanced stem cell therapies to try to combat the greatest pandemic in world medical history--Diabetes--a disease for which current stem cell research doesn't begin to match the need. We at RSCI are committed to improving the lives of diabetic patients.

We have five others who are pretty good too-  this is probably the greatest science advisory board ever assembled and nobody knows about it.  If you read this- please tell a friend about the Repair Stem Cell Institute.  We are a public service company informing people/patients where they can go for stem cell treatment if they are sick or there is nothing more their doctors can do for them.  No need to register, no need to sign up, no need to pay- all the information on the website is free and easy-  Go check it out and tell some friends- www.repairstemcells.org -Thank you very much. - Don Margolis

And you can click here to see our new press release!

Just when you thought there wasn't any new uses for adult stem cells- we get adult stem cell treatment for facelifts! We shouldn't be surprised. While this probably isn't as significant as adult stem cell therapy for heart disease or stem cell treatment for diabetes, it probably is important to many of you - yes, I'm talking to you Michael Jackson.

A doctor now does a natural facelift using adult stem cells and using no surgery AND since it involves no surgery, it is cheaper too. Read more:

Every week I hit you with www.marrow.org .  Register there and there is a chance you can save somebody's life.  This week is no different.  Go to www.marrow.org  and learn how you can register  and perhaps one day you will be called upon to donate your bone marrow.  It involves a little discomfort and a couple days of your time, a small price to pay for someone who will always love you.

And here is another nice story:

Everyday thousands of critically ill people search for a life-saving donation. They're looking for a bone marrow transplant but finding a match can be difficult.

Especially for minorities who sometimes never find one mainly because not enough minorities sign up to be donors.

This weekend there is a national donor event to help change that.

Courtney Parham knows how hard it is to find a match.  She has the date of her cord blood transplant tattooed on her wrist. It's a day she will never forget.

"I know that there's somebody out there that did this and saved my life," says Parham.

She was diagnosed with leukemia just after her early graduation from high school.

Cord blood is more easily matched, so when doctors couldn't find a marrow match for Courtney they chose the alternative. It works in the same way but bone marrow is preferred. Nevertheless, the cord blood did the trick.

"People need to realize that this is saving 2-year-olds lives, this is saving an 18-year-old's life. I can now go to college, I can now work, I can be a part of society and I can continue doing what I was meant to do," says Parham.

This is just one example of why donors are so important.

"There's no question. This is a life-saving procedure. We reserve bone marrow transplant usually for people who are out of options," says Dr. Graham.

"There are so many younger people that have so much more to live for, and these transplants are saving their lives day after day," says Parham

REGISTER YOUR BONE MARROW!  There is also a shortage of donors from minority groups.  WWW.MARROW.ORG  - Do it

Only eight percent of registered donors with the national marrow donor program are African American. More than 80 percent of African American patients needing a transplant don't get one. "You do tend to match best within your own group, and that's why, the last time we checked, the national marrow program was actually encouraging any minority donor they could," says Dr. Michael Graham, a Pediatric Oncologist.

Click here to read the whole article