The results of this procedure could have profound implications to the stem-cell debate. The U.S. and other countries have severely restricted human emryonic stem cell research. But since this technique uses the patient’s own stem cells (after a 4-day regimen of a drug to stimulate the production of stem cells in the blood), that controversial issue is neatly avoided, as is the issue of therapeutic cloning–creating a cloned embryo of a patient and extracting stem cells from it, so as to avoid rejection.
O’Neill cautions, however, that even if Dimitri makes an excellent recovery, there is no guarantee the results could be duplicated in older people. “We know that based on age, older people have less recovery of heart function. It’s very possible this is age-dependent.”
The Beaumont doctors hope to begin clinical trials of their new stem-cell technique in the near future.