28th Stem Cell Therapy Patient to be Healed of Heart Failure in Thailand

[Mk]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060109/lf_nm/thailand_stemcells_dc

"I really don't feel nervous at all," said the 37-year-old scuba instructor from Florida, who discovered his heart was failing at 32. "For the last five years, I've been waiting to die. This is the first time I've been hopeful to live."

The source of Bonilla's new-found hope is a novel therapy that involves injecting stem cells culled from the patient's own blood into the heart to try to regenerate ailing heart muscle.

The two-hour procedure, which involves a patient's own adult stem cells, skirts the risk of rejection by the body and thorny ethical issues surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells posed by some who equate using embryos with destroying human life.

"We have not lost a single patient," said Suphachai Chaithiraphan, chairman of Chao Phya Hospital and president of the Heart Association of Thailand. "If you can offer help to desperate people, then I think you should."

The destination for many of the heart patients seeking stem cell therapy is Thailand, where doctors have staked their reputations on a procedure they say could save thousands of people but has yet to be approved in the United States.

 

[sameandnot]

that guy sounds cool. nice post, Mk.

 

[ravenprp]

It is truly amazing and heartwarming to hear about the success of stem cell therapy in healing heart failure in Thailand. The fact that this 37-year-old patient, who had been waiting to die for the past five years, is now hopeful to live is a testament to the potential of this treatment. It is also reassuring to know that this therapy uses a patient's own adult stem cells, eliminating the risk of rejection and ethical concerns surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells. It is commendable that the doctors in Thailand are dedicated to helping desperate patients and have not lost a single patient in the process. It is unfortunate that this procedure has not yet been approved in the United States, but hopefully with continued success and research, it will become more widely available to those in need. This news gives hope to many suffering from heart failure and showcases the potential of stem cell therapy in saving lives.