Hopeful for the slightest chance to cure their children, some parents in the United States are starting to go abroad to seek out experimental stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy.
A recent article by McClatchy Newspapers highlighted the efforts of two California families who are hoping that stem cell treatments using cells from umbilical cord blood will help their young children with cerebral palsy. However, because stem cell research has been stifled in the United States since the turn of the century, they must travel to China to get the treatments.
Aleesha and Michael Klomp, of Hanford, were scheduled to take their son Gryphon, 2, to China last month to begin a six-week regimen of cord blood stem cell infusions. They had to raise $50,000 for medical fees and travel expenses, with no guarantee of success, or even improvement, in their son’s CP. In Fresno, Jennifer Schmidt is trying to raise enough to take her two-year old daughter, Brooke Schmidt-Jordan, to have similar therapy.
The controversy over stem cells has focused in the U.S. primarily on embryonic stem cells, which require the destruction of the fetus, but the backlash has spilled over into all forms of stem cell research. Some estimate that the U.S. is five to ten years behind in the emerging medical technology.
The new Obama administration likely heralds a change in U.S. policy which will put the country on course to cover lost scientific ground, but the families say they aren’t willing to wait for America to play “catch up” on a lost decade of stem cell medical research.
According to the article:
President Obama’s administration proposed looser restrictions on stem-cell research than those the Bush administration had enacted, yet it could be years before the United States catches up to other countries in therapies offered to the public.
The families don’t think their children have that much time.
“Why would I wait five years to help him?” asked Michael Klomp, a construction worker.
Although some experts in the U.S. have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of umbilical cord stem cell CP treatments, there have been some encouraging results.
While the overall standards of medical treatment in China do not meet those of the United States, Chinese medical facilities often have VIP wards with up-to-date laboratories and technology, according to the U.S. State Department. Most Chinese hospitals do not accept U.S. medical insurance, and often require cash up front to pay for procedures. Many Chinese facilities do not have the capabilities to deal with complications, such as extreme infections, and patients may have to be sent to another hospital or even sent back to the U.S. for proper treatment.
In recent years China has become a hot spot of experimental procedures, enticing foreigners with difficult-to-treat ailments and money to take their chances on procedures which have not met the high bar set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Read the full article: Families Are Taking Toddlers to China for Stem-Cell Treatments
