Doctors Find Adult Stem Cells from Umbilical Cord Blood Offer Great Promise
by Mary Rettig
March 8, 2005
(AgapePress) - Proponents of embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR) continue to push for relaxation of government restrictions on a dubious and death-dealing practice -- destroying human embryos to advance medical science -- this despite the fact that ESCR shows little promise of providing cures for any diseases any time soon. Meanwhile, as one medical organization's executive director points out, adult stem cells from umbilical cord blood have been shown to be effective as a treatment for several medical problems.Dr. David Stevens of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations is calling attention to new research that demonstrates the medical value of adult stem-cell research (ASCR) and its therapeutic applications. In particular, he points to recent studies showing that adult stem cells from umbilical cord blood can work to rebuild bone marrow in patients who have lost bone marrow as a result of chemotherapy treatments.
Stevens says umbilical cord blood is just one more source of adult stem cells, which -- unlike embryonic stem cells -- actually do provide cures. He notes that last November, in Korea, physicians reported successfully treating a woman who had been paralyzed for 19 years due to a spinal cord injury. "They injected umbilical cord stem cells directly into her spinal column," the U.S. doctor says, "and in six weeks she was up and walking. I mean, it was almost miraculous what happened."
According to the CMDA executive director, the medical benefits to be found in umbilical cord blood are tremendous. He says mothers-to-be should consider saving this precious resource, which has not only been found useful in treating patients' injuries and diseases, but also helps to address another medical issue -- that is, the problem of donor rejection.
This added benefit of umbilical cord blood was discovered as doctors were looking into the use of adult stem cells in the treatment of severe leukemia.
Stevens says while individual umbilical cord blood samples do not yield enough stem cells for an adult leukemia patient's full treatment, research shows that cord blood supplies from separate donors can be combined. "Umbilical cord stem cells are not as antigenic -- they don't cause that rejection reaction," the doctor explains. "But what [the researchers] did when they put the two specimens of cord-blood together is that they actually partially matched them. In other words, they just looked at the major histo-compatibility markers."
The head of the CMDA says researchers find this matching procedure fairly easy to do. As a result, doctors are able to use safely and ethically obtained adult stem cells from umbilical cord blood to overcome the inadequate supply issue even as they pursue an effective course of treatment, if not a cure, for leukemia and other diseases and medical conditions.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
