First stem cell transplant on Chilean leukemia patient (umbilical cord blood stem cells)

AFP / Yahoo ^ | 7/23/09 | n/a

[DemforBush]

SANTIAGO (AFP) – A middle-aged leukemia patient has became Chile's first patient to receive stem cells from an umbilical cord in a radical procedure that could cure the disease, health officials here said Thursday.

The 48-year-old man received the transplanted cells on Monday from samples stored in the so-called "Bank of Life" institute, said doctors at Santiago's Catholic University Hospital, where the operation was performed...

[DemforBush]

If this works, it could be a tremendous thing. Both for the fact that it would mean a cure for a horrible, horrible disease, and that the the stem cells used to do it were gathered from an act of life (a child's birth) instead of death.

[DemforBush]

Got my fingers crossed on this one, folks.

[iowamark]

Rarely if ever does the MSM point out that the really promising work with stem cells is done with adult and embryonic stem cells, not those from destroyed human embryos.

[coconutt2000]

Well, the most of the MSM can’t tell the difference between embryonic and adult stem cells. For example this article discusses the use of placental stem cells which are similar to adult stem cells and don’t require the destruction of an embryo.

All the known promising cures and treatments involving stem cells utilize adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells have not produced any promising treatments. In fact the tests done on animals with embryonic stem cells have resulted in high instances of cancer in the animal subjects.