Lifesaving umbilical cord transplants may soon be available to more people with $24 million in total funding set aside by the federal government to create the first national cord blood banking system.

Stories of hope and healing fill the hallways at the Duke University Medical Center pediatric bone marrow transplants ward. They treat children who come in suffering from sickle-cell anemia, leukemia, genetic diseases that affect the development of the brain and other body tissues, and cancers that are resistant to standard therapy.

Instead of bone marrow transplants, the healing is often credited to stem cells acquired from a donor’s umbilical cord blood that includes blood from the placenta as well as the cord attached to a newborn baby.

“Cord blood doesn’t have to match as closely as bone marrow, so many people who can never find a perfectly matched bone marrow donor can use cord blood instead,” said Dr. Joanne, director of the pediatric bone marrow and stem cell transplant program at Duke.

In the field of cord blood stem cell transplant, Dr. Joanne is a pioneer. From a network of six hospitals in the state of North Carolina, cord blood is donated to Carolina’s Cord Blood Bank which is run by Duke University. The hospitals include, Western WakeMed in Cary, Rex Healthcare in Raleigh, Greensboro Women’s Hospital, UNC Hospitals, and of course, Duke University Medical Center.

Because banks operate on limited private donations, health experts say that cord blood is in short supply. The process of collecting and cataloging cord blood can also be expensive.

“On average, it costs approximately $1,600 per unit,” Joanne said.

Committed to the creation of a cord blood donations coordinating center, the federal government has committed $10 million. Still awaiting approval is another $14 million that will help current cord blood banks.

“We’re hoping, with increased funding, that we can open other collection sites, and we’ve had many hospitals around the state approach us to participate,” Joanne said.

More patients that need the transplants will get them, since a larger supply of cord blood units will be available said Dr. Joanne.

Research for cell therapy is being conducted with the stem cells found in cord blood as well. Researchers have found that damaged cells in the liver, heart, pancreas, and brain, can possibly be replaced by cord blood stem cells.

Cord blood stem transplants will also benefit more adults said Dr. Joanne.

“In the beginning of the field, people thought it would only be useful in children because no one believed that a few ounces of cord blood would have enough cells to rescue an adult after a transplant, but it turns out that bigger units have enough cells for an adult,” she said.

Minorities will also benefit from the flexibility of cord blood stem cells.

“This does benefit minority patients, particularly African-Americans, because it’s very unlikely that they can find a fully matched bone marrow donor,” Dr. Joanne said. “But because cord blood only needs to match part-way, they can almost always find a cord blood donor.”

A national study that will examine whether our own blood stem cells can repair the heart will be available to individuals with severe angina that have limited treatment options.

Because of narrowed coronary arteries, certain areas of the heart don’t receive adequate oxygen. Researchers hope stem cells will stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, called angiogenesis, in these areas.

As many as 20 patients could join the study which is being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said principal investigator of the study’s local arm, Dr. Joon, clinical director of the UPMC Cardiovascular Institute. Six patients have enrolled thus far.

The trial will be conducted at 15 to 20 different medical centers requiring a total of 150 coronary artery disease patients.

Dr. Joon explained that the study is aimed at people with what we would call refractory angina, or chest pain and shortness of breath that’s coming from inadequate blood flow to the heart. Many of the study participant’s have already had bypass surgery or other procedures. However, they continue to have symptoms.

To increase the number of stem cells in blood circulation, study participants will take a drug for five days that will facilitate this boost. Upon the completion of the initial boost, the researchers will draw blood form the patient and collect and purify the stem cells in it.

Sophisticated cardiac navigation systems will assist the doctors with the process of injecting the cells back into the patient. Following the procedure, patients will receive MRI scans and other assessments in addition to being monitored with a symptom and activity diary and exercise testing.

Those who may be eligible for the stem cell trial include adult patients who are taking maximum medical therapy for severe coronary artery disease and are not candidates for angioplasty, stents, bypass surgery or other conventional treatments.

Mike had an angioplasty, triple-bypass heart surgery. Inside him were four wires, two stents, a pacemaker and a defibrillator. He had apparently run out of options in battling heart disease.

“After the last stent, doctors told me there was nothing more they could do for Mike,” said his wife, Marion.

However, science delivered a response. At the Minneapolis Heart Institute which is part of Abbott Northwestern Hospital, the 70-year-old Mike became a recipient of experimental stem cell treatment in January.

Different from controversial embryonic stem cell research, the treatment uses Mike’s own stem cells. Earlier this month, saying the utilization of embryos to perform stem cell research amounts to murder, President Bush vetoed a bill that would have expanded federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Mike said his experience has strengthened his support of all stem cell research.

“Based on what has happened to me and based on what all the medical people have told us, this will be the real answer,” he said. “Just think of the possibilities Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, spinal injuries.

“It’s not to make us live forever. It’s so we can feel better when we are living.”

Mike feeling healthier is not as apparent as black-and-white. The answer is truly in color.

Looking much like a weather map does with heavy storm activity; Mike shows colored images of his heart at his Riverside Park home. The dissimilar colors show the health of the different areas of his heart. Pink areas are the healthiest and brown areas are the worst.

Before his January treatment the map only displayed a hint of pink and a big brown area. At his recent six-month checkup, the brown has all but vanished and practically a third of his heart is fully pink.

The map confirmed what he already knew. “I have more stamina,” he said. “I just feel better.”

He knew his results were good for another reason, too. He was asked to offer a testimonial about the experimental research. His words and full-page photograph grace the professional brochure the institute uses to seek donations.

“I figured it was working because they wouldn’t ask a guy who wouldn’t be around when the brochure came out,” he said.

Mike’s treatment took only a few hours and one overnight stay, which was of no cost to him because the procedure is experimental.

The treatment had bone marrow cells drawn, treated and then injected into 15 ailing portions of the heart. The presumption, according to lead researcher Dr. Tim, is that bone marrow cells stimulate the growth of blood vessels. The researchers also use stem cells to grow new muscle in the heart in a similar study.

Mike has an enlarged heart that wasn’t getting adequate blood. More vessels improve the blood flow in the heart, thus making it healthier.

“Mike had blockages that you couldn’t fix with bypass or angioplasty,” Henry said. “Whenever he does any work, he has shortness of breath or pain.”

With Mike’s results just one example of the success, the doctor said the research looks promising. Although Tim said the research is “cutting edge,” the theory is quite simple.

“We’re constantly repairing our own body, whether it’s our blood vessels, skin or liver,” he said. “So using our own cells, this is the natural way that the body rebuilds itself.”

As a poster boy for cutting-edge science, Mike feels odd. After all, he’s lived a life of routines. For 37 years, he’s lived in the same home. He has moonlighted the last 25 years as a public address announcer at high school hockey games. He worked 36 years as a post office carrier before retiring in 1993, partly for health reasons. He and Marion are a week shy of their 52nd anniversary.

He’s widely known as a practical joker and someone whose happy, optimistic persona spreads cheer. He spends much of his retirement following his three granddaughters in their year-round athletic pursuits.

“Being part of this research is like winning the lottery,” he said. “What a lucky chance I got. I am just going to continue on like a ball of string unwinding into the future.”

He has lofty praise for his local doctors. He feels equally lucky with his other medical treatment in Grand Forks since the 1987 heart attack suffered while delivering mail.

“There’s always been some new procedure, new medication or new idea for me,” he said. “I’ve never had a bad experience in a hospital. I’ve always looked forward to going to my doctor appointments.

“When I went to the hospital in Minneapolis, I figured they’d fix me up again. And they did.”

So, he doesn’t require catnaps as before. For the first time in at least five years, he is mowing the lawn. A struggle to walk across his lawn before, he can now walk a mile without discomfort.

“But I don’t go dancing,” he said. “Of course, I never did.

With the controversy surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells, the above headline may come as a shock. The recent veto by President George Bush that denied extra federal funding for research conducted on embryonic stem cells, along with the clamor and backlash the decision faced from scientists, politicians, and various institutions, has all but confirmed the importance of embryonic stem cells. Is that not right? Perhaps not, as commentator Pat Boone recently found out. The fact is, embryonic stem cells may not be as important as we all think.

A couple of months ago, I was in downtown Los Angeles, at the courthouse, doing my jury duty for several days. There are always breaks and lulls, during which time hundreds of participants can and do talk and get to know each other. I actually enjoyed it.

During one of those breaks, I was electrified by a conversation with an L.A. scientist/engineer/businessman named John. Somehow the subject of embryonic stem-cell research came up, and I expressed my deep concerns about the eventual creation of nascent embryos and then the use of them in laboratory experiments. The state of California recently committed 3 billion taxpayer dollars, over the strenuous objections of many of us, to this experimentation.

Boone thinks like many of us today, that embryonic stem cells hold some sort of key to all our ailments. However, the moral dilemma that many individuals have with using embryos fuels the controversy. It seems as if the only thing keeping us from making great medical strides and developing advanced and effective treatments for illnesses that are incurable, is money to do the research needed to find the answers, and the elimination of any moral and religious debate. This has been the underlying principle behind embryonic stem cell research as Boone describes.

The rationale, the hope, is that pure embryonic stem cells might be effective in treating dire conditions like Parkinson’s, cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. There’s no proof, just the hope and projections of eager scientists and many large medical companies, and the very understandable desire of so many whose lives are affected by these and other maladies. The yearnings to find cures, somehow, somewhere, are overriding the moral questions about actually fertilizing a human egg with a human sperm, creating a life (obviously, if the new creation isn’t living, it’s useless) – and then dissecting and short-circuiting the inevitable development of this living organism in a search for a possible cure-all.

John continued to explain to Boone what his company specialized in. Dr. John said that it was non-controversial stem cells and treatment. He told Boone about the research that they had done and in detail pointed out the differences between embryonic and non-embryonic stem cells. Boone’s commentary below shows his amazement at what he heard. Because like many of us today, he was led to believe by the media and hype surrounding embryonic stem cells, that they were the only answer and that any moral dilemmas any of us face would have to be sequestered.

John told me about his company, a Los Angeles based adult stem-cell company whose goal is to develop stem-cell products for the life science and health-care industries. He informed me that the scientific founders of this company have over 30 years of experience in stem-cell research –and that they have discovered a novel stem cell from adult tissues with properties similar to cells obtained from embryos! These cells can be – and are being – recovered from almost any tissue found in adult humans, while maintaining many of the properties described for embryonic stem cells!

I was astounded.

John went on to tell me about the research conducted all these years by Dr. H and his colleagues in laboratories in Georgia, demonstrating scientifically that postnatal individuals – that’s you and me – contain a series of adult stem cells with attributes very similar, but not identical, to stem cells derived from embryos and fetuses. The similarities between these two groups of stem cells, i.e., embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells, include an unlimited ability to increase in numbers (self-renewal) and their ability to form any cell type in the body, including the gametes.

John continued to outline the discrepancies between the two forms of stem cells, and went on to state that a person could even use their own stem cells harvested from their own body. This would be ideal since they would be an exact match for the patient right down to the very DNA, and eliminate any chance of rejection.

The differences noted between embryonic and adult stem cells are reflected in the programming of the cells. The former cells are pre-programmed to form all the tissues of an individual. This event occurs automatically after conception, with fusion of the reproductive gametes, the sperm and ovum. In contrast, adult stem cells are not preprogrammed to form anything; they wait for exterior or environmental signals to tell them what they should do. They’re in a “resting state,” in effect waiting for marching orders. And Dr. H demonstrates, in a powerful photographic presentation that my wife and I have seen, that his group can – and have – identified and utilized specific chemical agents that can tell adult stem cells to form a specific single cell type, which they will do. And then those cells can be injected into the blood stream, where they will seek and find the damaged place where they’re needed!

And, wonderfully, a patient’s own easily harvested adult stem cells can be used for his or her own treatment, and the implanted “self” stem cells will not be rejected! In the presentation Shirley and I saw, we observed these powerful cells go like homing pigeons to the most needed spots in the heart or brain or other vital organ of the donor – and repair the damage. It looked truly miraculous, and we believe it is.

Boone finished his commentary by once again discussing the moral issues surrounding the use of embryonic stem cells. But there is an alternative as Boone learned. All the benefits of stem cell therapy, without any moral issues to hold science back. Boone even cites biblical passages in the end to point out that the bible, the foundation of the morals that drive many to oppose embryo use, may have been trying to tell us what all along what now seems to be an answer.

We’re not doctors or scientists and can only partially grasp all we’re seeing and hearing about. But to us, what these qualified and experienced scientists have discovered and developed not only makes the very expensive, long-range and extremely questionable research and use of created embryos unnecessary, it also offers help and probably miraculous treatment much more imminent and abundantly available, without the moral dilemma.

It reminds me of the time Moses balked at God’s command to confront Pharaoh with His command “Let My people go!” Moses felt so inadequate and asked, “Why should Pharaoh listen to what I say?” And God answered, “What is that in thy hand?”

Moses, befuddled, said, “My staff, my walking stick … Why?” God told him to throw it on the ground, and it became a serpent. Then God told him to pick it up, which Moses gingerly did, and it was a staff again. The point was the Creator of all mankind can do anything He wants, and we’re created in His image, with infinite capabilities. Instead of trying to “play God” and tamper with His proprietary creative processes, I feel we should recognize that He’s asking again, “What is that in your hand, in your blood? Use that, and I’ll work with you. Leave creation to me. I’ve got a lot more experience than you do!”

Emily was born June 6, in Northwest Medical Center in Broward County, her parents and her doctor gave her a special gift. Among the earliest in the nation to do so, Emily’s parents, Matt and Rosa of Margate, Fla., banked stem cells collected from the placenta that surrounded their baby before her birth.

An option that has been available for several years, blood from her umbilical cord was collected and saved. The blood can be used to effectively treat several serious blood and immune system diseases.

Although stem cell debate has escalated in recent years, a non-controversial source could present potentially life-saving therapies. Scientists discovered certain cells from the placenta may be as versatile as human embryonic stem cells.

Placental-derived stem cell research is likely to accelerate since President Bush vetoed the recent bill that would have increased federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Placental stem cells are eligible for federal funding and in many ways more ideal due to the fact that they behave like embryonic stem cells, are plentiful, and do not involve the destruction of human embryos.

Recent accomplishments support the science behind placental stem cell research.

Scientists have been able to coax the placental stem cells to become bone, nerve, muscle, fat, pancreatic, or liver cells, which could make them useful in future treatment of such ailments as diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.

“I know that with the cord blood, they have been able to treat leukemias, lymphomas, and anemias,” said Rosa, “but with the placenta cells, they’ll be able to treat heart disease, liver disease, diabetes, neurological disorders and do bone regeneration, and probably things we don’t even know about yet.”

Rosa and her husband want extra protection for their first child Emily in case something goes wrong in the future. Thus, banking her cord blood and placental tissue was the obvious choice. Mary, who is a surgical technician at the hospital where her daughter was born, also stated that cells also may be helpful to other family members because of the close genetic match.

“Being in the medical field, I’ve had a chance to see all kinds of things I wouldn’t want my daughter to go through,” she said. “With the cord blood and the placenta, you’re covered for anything. Life insurance is one thing, but this is kind of like life assurance.”

Dr. Bruce, the ob-gyn who delivered Emily by C-section and extracted the placental tissue and umbilical cord blood, said stem cells from cord blood have already saved many lives, and the placental cells offer promise for the future.

Cardiovascular disease is Australia’s number one killer, but those afflicted by the disease may soon have optimism due to research conducted in Adelaide using stem cells.

Cells harvested from their own bone marrow will give patients a new treatment options utilizing purified stem cell technology.

While this new technology, which aims to create new heart tissue, is not intended to substitute current methods of treatment, it does give physicians another alternative for those patients who have not successfully responded to normal protocol which includes medication, surgery, and pacemakers.

The research, funded by the National Heart Foundation, is unique because of the high purity stem cells that are extracted from the bone marrow.

“There has been quite a lot of work in developing purification techniques with bone and cartilage, but its use in cardiac research is really only beginning,” stated cardiologist Dr. Peter.

“Previously human cells were injected into rats that had had heart attacks and the damage was reversed or repaired a lot by new blood vessels formed in the heart.”

Six months into the study, Dr. Peter said the team had already noted promising results.

University of Adelaide’s Professor Stephen, Dr. Andrew, and Dr. Stan from the Hanson Institute are part of the team at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The doctors intend to test the technology in larger animals first, such as sheep, and in two to three years begin clinical trials with human subjects.

“Should the treatment become available worldwide we would be looking at a 5-10 year time frame,” Dr. Peter said.

Peripheral arterial disease, recognized as PAD, is a vascular disorder that affects the blood circulation in the arms, legs, feet, stomach, and kidneys. Normally a disease that requires amputation of the affected body part, Indiana University doctors are pioneering a novel method to prevent and avert such permanent treatment using a patient’s own stem cells.

The researchers at IU harvest adult stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow, inject the cells into the diseased leg, and thus encourage the development of new blood vessels and correct the problem. The study conducted by scientists at IU is the only one of its kind in the United States.

According to scientists, in patients that are healthy, stem cells from the bone marrow migrate out of the tissue to repair arteries and organs when they are injured. For individuals afflicted with PAD, stem cells cannot reach the injured tissue in numbers that make a difference.

Thus, in patients suffering from advanced PAD, doctors at IU decided to try transporting the healing stem cells from the marrow to the leg.

The results look hopeful even though to date, only 10 patients have gone through the procedure.

“The information that we’re getting from this study is telling us this therapy does indeed work, and we’re learning more and more about how to isolate this information,” said Dr. Michael, an assistant professor of surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine and the principal investigator of the trial.

PAD, a hardening and clogging of the arteries that can lead to poor circulation, pain, and numbness on the legs and feet, afflicts between 8 and 10 million people. In about 10 percent of the patients, PAD symptoms become so bad that amputation may be the only standard treatment option available stated Murphy.

Other present methods of treatment include angioplasty and/or bypass surgery to avoid the eventuality of amputation, but the downside is that not every individual patient is suitable for one of these procedures.

Michael’s study offers an option to those individuals where amputation is the only choice left.

Four years ago, 23 year old mother and dietary aide Adriane lost all five toes on her right foot after PAD developed when she had a blood clot in her leg. When PAD caused difficulty in her other leg, Adriane feared another amputation.

After registering in Michael’s trial in September, she has no problems. The discolorations and swelling in her foot, the pain, all of these disappeared.

“Now I can do everything I want,” she said. “I was worried, because I had been there before and I knew what the outcome was in the end. I was worried I would have to go through something like that again.”

The eventual goal is to enroll 20 patients in the study and conduct follow-ups for at least one year following treatment. Michael and his colleagues have had patients come from Miami, Kansas, and New York for the procedure.

A second study on PAD has been planned where the efficacy of stem cells isolated from a patient’s fat tissue will be compared to those cells that come from bone marrow. Michael also planned an exploration into whether they might also avoid hardening of arteries, not just in PAD, but throughout the body. The exploration would begin once either or both of the techniques for treating PAD are confirmed a success.

“We’re hoping to expand this information to rebuilding the heart after a heart attack, the brain after a stroke, and maybe even the kidney or liver with the complications of diabetes,” Michael said.

Peripheral artery disease affects tens of thousands of people. Also referred to as PAD, the disease affects blood circulation, generally in the legs resulting in sores, ulcers, and in some cases amputations. For those that are suffering, a unique clinical trial being conducted at the University of Indiana involving stem cell injections as a treatment may be the answer.

Half of the projected 10 million afflicted Americans who are diagnosed have no symptoms, but others report varying levels of pain as well as other symptoms which include numbness and sores on the legs and feet. The disease is caused by atherosclerosis which can lead to heart attack by clogging and hardening the arteries.

Dr. Michael, who is an assistant professor of surgery and a researcher at the Indiana Center for Vascular Biology and Medicine at the medical school, is leading the stem cell trial. Weight loss, eliminating smoking, and maintaining a proper diet are initial suggestions for management of the disease. Cholesterol-lowering drugs may be prescribed if appropriate. An angioplasty procedure that expands the blood vessels or an artery bypass graft may be treatment alternatives if the disease continues to progress.

However, Dr. Michael says that the surgical measures are not feasible for as many as 12 percent of those individuals afflicted, and that 30,000 to 50,000 people in the U.S. receive amputations due to PAD. The quality of life for a person fighting terminal cancer is comparable to that of someone who is severely affected by PAD.

With the potential to generate the cells that compose the lining of blood vessels, specialized descendants of stem cells called progenitor cells are being used in the IU trial. These “parent” cells can produce new specialized cells in the body when required and fall beneath the class of adult stem cells.

The patient is placed under general anesthesia and bone marrow is extracted from the patient