Posted on 11/19/2006 9:36:55 AM PST by Lori675
A New Zealand woman who travelled to China for stem cell treatment died on Thursday night in the arms of her husband, Rein. She was 66.
Willie Terpstra, a New Zealander, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2004.She left her home in Rotorua 18 months ago to have a foetal cell tansplantation operation in China.
Motor neurone disease leads to the loss of voluntary muscle activity that aids speaking, breathing and swallowing.
The Chinese operation involved the transplantation of around two million cells from an aborted foetus into Mrs Terpstra's brain and was performed by surgeons at Beijing West Hill Hospital.
This operation is banned in many countries including New Zealand. After the operation, Mrs.Terpstra showed signs of improvement.
Within days her breathing, talking and eating improved.But her progress did not last long and the symptoms returned and deteriorated and she died on Thursday night.
Mrs.Terpstra's body was at the family home and her funeral would be held in Rotorua on Wednesday.
Is she the victim of media driven false hopes?
This has got to be a real downer for Michael J. Fox.
Yes.
Hurray! Sanctity of Life wins again!
Woo-hoo!
This story would be front page news in the MSM is the death was linked to adult stem cells.
Um, two people are dead.
Woo-hoo????
A person just died.
I think that the spokesman for murdering babies should take a trio to China and get the operation..See if it works if it doesn't then oh well better luck next time..Michael J take a trip..
Unbelievable. Those who object are berated as "anti-science".
Actually two people died. The aborted fetus and the patient.
death was linked to adult stem cells.
Her death is not a result of this, with MND she would have died anyway and it appears she has.
The hope of improvement in these diseases (which ultimately end up killing you) are what drive people to try this - 3 years ago going to China to have this operation was THE ONLY HOPE for people with ALS or MND because there were some promising developments. Time, however, has proven it is not the case.
I watched a dear friend succumb to ALS day by day. . .It's a HORRIBLE way to die. Because there isn't enough money for US Pharm. companies to research and find a cure, China was their only hope (at the time).
The Chinese medical establishment allows the equivalent of PhDs to conduct research as the practice of medicine in the hospitals. This is also the nation which allows people to be placed on death row and then have their organs harvested.
I can't imagine the medical comunnity is any better.
You said: This is also the nation which allows people to be placed on death row and then have their organs harvested.
Are you saying they do an organ type and if it matches someone who needs one, they place the convicted on death row to get the organs?
I know they harvest the organs of death row patients.
Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot?!?!
Why don't you ask him?
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