Archive for the ‘Bone Marrow Stem Cells’ Category

10-01-2012 19:46 If you match a patient you will be asked to donate stem cells from either your bloodstream or bone marrow. Learn how it's done by watching this video.

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PBSC vs. BONE MARROW DONATION - Video

05-02-2012 05:11 Dr. Martin of MetroMD performs a bone marrow extraction procedure to harvest stem cells. The extracted bone marrow will be centrifuged to separate targeted stem cells and re-injected into the patient's injured joints. Questions? Please call the MetroMD Institute of Regenerative Medicine at (323) 285-5300 or email us at info@MetroMD.net. MetroMD.net

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Bone Marrow Extraction Procedure to Harvest Stem Cells | MetroMD Los Angeles - Video

05-02-2012 11:27 MetroMD.net Dr. Martin explains why bone marrow is a better source than fat tissue for viable stem cells in your own body. Questions? Please call the MetroMD Institute of Regenerative Medicine at (323) 285-5300 or email us at info@MetroMD.net. Los Angeles

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What Is The Best Source for Stem Cells- Bone Marrow or Fat Tissue? | MetroMD Los Angeles - Video

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Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Article Date: 15 Feb 2012 - 8:00 PST

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According to a study published in the February issue of the STEM CELL Translational Medicine Journal , a world-first technique for generating adult stem cells (mesenchymal stem cells [MSCs]) has been developed by researchers at the University of Queensland. This new method can be used to repair bone and possibly other organs, and will considerably affect individuals suffering from a variety of serious diseases.

Professor Nicholas Fisk, who leads the collaborative study between the UQ Clinical Research Center (UQCCR) and the UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), explained:

"We used a small molecule to induce embryonic stem cells over a 10 day period, which is much faster than other studies reported in the literature.

The technique also worked on their less contentious counterparts, induced pluripotent stem cells.

To make the pluripotent mature stem cells useful in the clinic, they have to be told what type of cell they need to become (pre-differentiated), before being administered to an injured organ, or otherwise they could form tumors.

Because only small numbers of MSCs exist in the bone marrow, and harvesting bone marrow from a healthy donor is an invasive procedure, the ability to make our own MSCs in large number in the laboratory is an exciting step in the future widespread clinical use of MSCs.

We were able to show these new forms of stem cells exhibited all the characteristics of bone marrow stem cells and we are currently examining their bone repair capability."

Ernst Wolvetang, co-researcher on the study and AIBN Associate Professor, explained that the technique had overcome a considerable obstacle in the translation of stem cell-based therapy.

Wolvetang said: "We are very excited by this research, which has brought together stem cell researchers from two of the major UQ research hubs UQCCR and AIBN."

Written by: Grace Rattue

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our stem cell research section for the latest news on this subject. UniQuest, The University of Queensland's main commercialization company, invites parties interested in licensing the intellectual property relating to this discovery to contact UniQuest on 3365 4037 or lifesciences@uniquest.com.au.

Source: University of Queensland

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Bone Repair Stem Cell Breakthrough Shows Promise

When LSA senior Daniel Lee returned to the United States in December from a family trip to Italy feeling ill, he was rushed to the hospital where he received a life-threatening diagnosis — he had aplastic anemia, a disease that prevents bone marrow from producing red and white blood cells.

Upon hearing news of Lee’s dire need for a bone marrow transplant, students mobilized to encourage members of the campus community to donate marrow and raise awareness about the importance of joining the National Marrow Donor Registry.

As part of this effort, Sigma Kappa sorority members will work with DKMS Americas, a donor recruitment center, helping students, faculty and staff members register for the Be The Match Registry today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Anderson AB Room in the Union.

LSA senior Samira Monavvari, Lee’s friend, has been working to promote today’s event via Facebook and has received more than 1,000 confirmed attendees. Monavvari said she hopes to be able to help someone else in need of a transplant, even if she doesn't find a match for Lee.

“The fact that Dan is going through this makes us want to donate to people who we don’t even know because it’s so hard seeing what he’s going through,” Monavvari said.

According to Monavvari, Lee is known jokingly by his friends as “the next Steve Jobs,” adding that he is extremely smart, driven and friendly.

“If you ask him what he wants to do, he’ll always say he wants to be known for something,” Monavvari said. “He is the kind of kid who gets along with everyone … that’s why (his diagnosis) has touched everyone so much.”

LSA junior Jessica Kaltz, a member of Sigma Kappa, started organizing the drive prior to Lee’s diagnosis. Kaltz worked with Christian Montgomery, a University alum and DKMS Americas employee, over the past few months to organize the registry at the University.

She wrote in an e-mail interview that she hopes that Lee’s story will inspire people to attend today’s event.

“When people hear about Dan’s story, I think they will see that by simply taking five minutes of their time by signing up to become a donor, they could possibly be the life-saving difference that Dan needs,” Kaltz wrote.

Montgomery explained that the process for joining the registry involves having potential donors fill out a short form and then submit a cheek swab to determine their tissue type.
Potential donors will then be added to the Be The Match Registry, a national list of potential bone marrow donors.

If the donor is contacted as a match and decides to continue with the process, he or she will be required to take a blood test in order to obtain the best match for the patient in need.

Between four and six weeks later, the donor will undergo a marrow extraction procedure or peripheral blood stem cell donation, depending on the patient’s condition. Contrary to popular belief, the donor typically does not experience significant pain, a common misconception about the two procedures, Montgomery said.

Montgomery is not only a DKMS employee, but also a bone marrow donor himself. In 2007, he registered at an event in the Diag, and in January 2008 he was contacted as a potential match for a 22-year-old female in New Jersey suffering from paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a rare blood disease.

Nicole Mausteller, the patient to whom Montgomery made his donation, said her disorder was discovered through blood work that was required as part of the process of becoming a dental assistant.

Montgomery donated through marrow extraction in May 2008, a procedure that he said left him a bit stiff and sore for a few days. After receiving a one-month, six-month and one-year update, Montgomery and Mausteller agreed to exchange contact information. They have been in contact since February 2010 and remain good friends.

“He’s my hero,” Mausteller said.

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Bone marrow drive hopes to help student and save lives

WALLACE, NC (WECT) - Last year, thousands of people became aware of the serious medical condition of a six-year-old boy from Duplin County.

Wright Lanier passed away in mid-December, but there is no doubt he made an impact on the people who followed his medical condition on Facebook.

In 2010, Wright was diagnosed with a rare immune deficiency. Initially, doctors thought that he had lymphoma.

"The doctors, a lot of times, knew something was wrong, but in testing him nothing ever showed up," said Wright's mother, Dona Lanier. "He had a rare immune deficiency called XLP, which always looked like Lymphona in his body."

Because his condition was worsening, doctors decided Wright needed a bone marrow transplant, which is a procedure to replace damaged or destroyed bone marrow with healthy bone marrow stem cells. The stem cells can develop into the red blood cells that carry oxygen through your body. The white cells are the ones that fight infections and the platelets help with blood clotting.

While the transplant actually worked, complications were too great, and Wright died just over a year after the surgery.

"The bone marrow transplant, according to the Cincinnati hospital and Chapel Hill, was a success, meaning it completely cured his XLP and MPS," explained Dona.  "Wright just unfortunately had a lot of complications as a result of the transplant that resulted in his passing."

"While bone marrow transplants are life saving procedures for a lot of children and adults, with diseases that used to be deadly, it can also be very dangerous, and unfortunately not everyone who has a bone marrow transplant survives," said Doctor David Hill, a Wilmington pediatrician.

Before Wright got sick, his mother was the school nurse at Penderlea School. Many of the teachers, including Donna Mintz, followed Wright's progress, and shortly after his death, plans were made to honor the young boy's short life.  A bone marrow registration drive will be held in his name in Wallace this weekend.

"If you knew Wright, you would be spoiled by the smile he had and he gave the best hugs in the world," said Mintz, a teacher and family friend. "And we want to do anything we can for the memory of Wright, to help his family."

"He had the biggest heart and he did live every day like it was his last," said Wright's mom. "He found joy in every single day".

The "Be The Match" registry drive will be held in honor of Wright Lanier this Saturday, from 11 a.m. - 4  p.m. in the Wallace Woman's Club building. Normally, there is a charge to be checked to see if you can become a donor, but this weekend, the fee has been waived.

There will also be other fundraising events taking place on Saturday, and all proceeds will go directly to the "Be The Match" registry.

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.

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Bone marrow transplant registration to be held in young boy's memory

WALLACE, NC (WECT) - Last year, thousands of people became aware of the serious medical condition of a six-year-old boy from Duplin County.

Wright Lanier passed away in mid-December, but there is no doubt he made an impact on the people who followed his medical condition on Facebook.

In 2010, Wright was diagnosed with a rare immune deficiency. Initially, doctors thought that he had lymphoma.

"The doctors, a lot of times, knew something was wrong, but in testing him nothing ever showed up," said Wright's mother, Dona Lanier. "He had a rare immune deficiency called XLP, which always looked like Lymphona in his body."

Because his condition was worsening, doctors decided Wright needed a bone marrow transplant, which is a procedure to replace damaged or destroyed bone marrow with healthy bone marrow stem cells. The stem cells can develop into the red blood cells that carry oxygen through your body. The white cells are the ones that fight infections and the platelets help with blood clotting.

While the transplant actually worked, complications were too great, and Wright died just over a year after the surgery.

"The bone marrow transplant, according to the Cincinnati hospital and Chapel Hill, was a success, meaning it completely cured his XLP and MPS," explained Dona.  "Wright just unfortunately had a lot of complications as a result of the transplant that resulted in his passing."

"While bone marrow transplants are life saving procedures for a lot of children and adults, with diseases that used to be deadly, it can also be very dangerous, and unfortunately not everyone who has a bone marrow transplant survives," said Doctor David Hill, a Wilmington pediatrician.

Before Wright got sick, his mother was the school nurse at Penderlea School. Many of the teachers, including Donna Mintz, followed Wright's progress, and shortly after his death, plans were made to honor the young boy's short life.  A bone marrow registration drive will be held in his name in Wallace this weekend.

"If you knew Wright, you would be spoiled by the smile he had and he gave the best hugs in the world," said Mintz, a teacher and family friend. "And we want to do anything we can for the memory of Wright, to help his family."

"He had the biggest heart and he did live every day like it was his last," said Wright's mom. "He found joy in every single day".

The "Be The Match" registry drive will be held in honor of Wright Lanier this Saturday, from 11 a.m. - 4  p.m. in the Wallace Woman's Club building. Normally, there is a charge to be checked to see if you can become a donor, but this weekend, the fee has been waived.

There will also be other fundraising events taking place on Saturday, and all proceeds will go directly to the "Be The Match" registry.

Copyright 2012 WECT. All rights reserved.

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Bone marrow transplant registration to be held in young boy's memory

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Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 15 Feb 2012 - 2:00 PST

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A systematic review of the evidence so far suggests stem cells derived from bone marrow moderately improves heart function after a heart attack. But the authors say larger trials are needed before we can devise guidelines for therapy practice, or draw conclusions about the long-term benefit of the treatment, such as whether it extends life.

The review, about to be published in the Cochrane Library, updates one done in 2008 that reviewed 13 trials; the new one takes into account another 20 more recent trials. Even though these later trials had longer follow ups, it was still not possible to draw firm conclusions about the long term benefits.

Lead author Enca Martin-Rendon, of the Stem Cell Research laboratory, NHS Blood and Transplant at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, UK, told the press that they found it hard to compare the 33 studies because they used so many different approaches:

"Larger trials with standardised treatment procedures would help us to know whether this treatment is really effective," said Martin-Rendon.

In order to pump blood around the body, the heart also needs its own constant supply of blood. If this supply is cut off by a blocked artery, it can cause a heart attack and damage the muscle tissue in the affected part of the heart, causing the cells to start dying, a process known as necrosis.

In the days and weeks after a heart attack, the necrosis can spread, eventually leaving a large part of the heart muscle unable to perform the job of contracting and pumping as well as it ought to. This increases the risk of further heart problems.

Stem cells are precursor cells that have the potential to mature into any cell in the body, including heart muscle cells. For this review, the researchers looked only at treatments that use stem cells derived from bone marrow. At present, such treatments are only available at centres that do research.

Another recently published study described a treatment that used stem cells derived from the patient's own heart tissue to repair heart attack damage.

For the review, Martin-Rendon and colleagues pooled data on a total of 1,765 patients from 33 trials. All the patients had already undergone the conventional treatment, angioplasty, where a balloon is inflated in the blocked artery to open it up and restore blood flow.

They concluded that stem cell therapy using bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs) can result in a moderate long-term improvement in heart function, that lasts for up to 5 years. But there was not enough data to enable them to say anything firm about the effect on survival rates.

Martin-Rendon said:

"This new treatment may lead to moderate improvement in heart function over standard treatments," adding that:

"Stem cell therapy may also reduce the number of patients who later die or suffer from heart failure, but currently there is a lack of statistically significant evidence based on the small number of patients treated so far."

The authors said it was still to early to compile guidelines for standard practice, and further work would be needed before anyone can do this. For instance, more information is needed to establish cell dosage, the timing of transplantation and how best to measure heart function.

One large trial, called BAMI, is already under way. The European Society of Cardiology for Stem Cells and Cardiac Repair is conducting the trial, which is funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (EU FP7-BAMI).

Anthony Mathur, a co-author of this latest Cochrane review, and principal investigator of the BAMI trial, said:

''The BAMI trial will be the largest stem cell therapy trial in patients who have suffered heart attacks and will test whether this treatment prolongs the life of these patients."

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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Bone Marrow Stem Cells Help Heal Heart Attack Damage

WHEN a piece of muscle in a person's heart dies from lack of blood flow, it scars over and is lost.

But a team of researchers from the Cedars Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles has proven that those muscles may not necessarily be gone forever.

In a study that may change how heart attacks are treated, Eduardo Marban and his team used stem cells to re-grow damaged heart muscle. In the 17 patients who received the therapy, Mr Marban measured an average 50 per cent reduction in the size of the scar tissue.

"One of the holy grails in medicine has been the use of medicine to achieve regeneration," he said. "Patients that were treated not only experienced shrinkage of their scars, but also new growth of their heart muscle, which is very exciting."

The stem cells were not derived from embryos, but instead were developed from the patients' own hearts. Mr Marban's team inserted a catheter into the diseased hearts and took a small biopsy of muscle. In the laboratory, the tissue was manipulated into producing stem cells to re-inject into the patients' hearts.

Over the course of a year, the cells took root in cardiac tissue, encouraging the heart to create new muscle and blood vessels. In other words, the heart actually began to mend itself.

While similar research has been done using stem cells from bone marrow, this is the first time that stem cells derived from a patient's own cardiac tissue have been used.

Mr Marban believes this therapy could be broadly used in many of the five to seven million Americans who suffer from heart disease every year. And he said the applications could go well beyond diseased hearts.

"If we can do that in the heart, I don't see any reason, conceptually, why we couldn't do it in kidneys for example, or pancreas or other organs that have very limited regenerative capacity," he said.

While the procedure may be a revolutionary medical technique, there are still a few more puzzling questions about the research that Mr Marban would like to investigate further.

For example, while the patients grew new heart muscle and saw a dramatic reduction in scar tissue, the actual function of their hearts did not show a significant improvement. And it appeared the stem cells themselves may not have turned into cardiac muscle, but rather they stimulated the heart to produce new muscle cells.

Nonetheless, the potential success of this research could hold a lot of promise for the millions of Americans who suffer from heart disease each and every year, which is the leading cause of death in the United States.

If his future experiments yield the same results as this initial study, Mr Marban said he could be offering this therapy to patients within four years - and that could go a long way in mending all of America's broken hearts.

Read more here.

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Stem cells could fix broken hearts

Stem cells are proving themselves beneficial once again after scientists used the controversial building blocks to resurrect dead, scarred heart muscle damaged by recent heart attack.

Results from a Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute clinical trial show that treating heart attack patients with an infusion of their own heart-derived cells helps damaged hearts re-grow healthy heart muscle.

Reporting in The Lancet medical journal, the researchers said this is the clearest evidence yet that broken hearts can heal. All that is needed is a little help from one’s own heart stem cells.

“We have been trying as doctors for centuries to find a treatment that actually reverses heart injury,” Eduardo Marban, MD, PhD, and lead author of the study, told WebMD. “That is what we seem to have been able to achieve in this small number of patients. If so, this could change the nature of medicine. We could go to the root of disease and cure it instead of just work around it.”

Marban invented the “cardiosphere” culture technique used to create the stem cells and founded the company developing the treatment.

“These findings suggest that this therapeutic approach is feasible and has the potential to provide a treatment strategy for cardiac regeneration after [heart attack],” wrote University of Hong Kong researchers Chung-Wah Siu and Hung-Fat Tse in an accompanying editorial of Marban’s paper.

The British Heart Foundation told James Gallagher of BBC News that this could “be great news for heart attack patients” in the future.

A heart attack occurs when the heart is starved of oxygen, such as when a clot is blocking the blood flow to the organ. As the heart heals, the dead muscle is replaced by scar tissue, which does not beat like heart muscle. This in turn reduces the hearts ability to pump blood around the body.

Doctors have long been searching for ways to regenerate damaged heart muscle, and now, it seems heart stem cells are the answer. And the Cedars-Sinai trial was designed to test the safety of using stem cells taken from a heart attack patient’s own heart.

The researchers found that one year after receiving the treatment, scar size was reduced from 24 percent to 12 percent of the heart in patients treated with heart stem cells. Patients in the control group, who did not receive stem cells, did not experience a reduction in their heart attack scar tissues.

“While the primary goal of our study was to verify safety, we also looked for evidence that the treatment might dissolve scar and re-grow lost heart muscle,” Marban said in a statement. “This has never been accomplished before, despite a decade of cell therapy trials for patients with heart attacks. Now we have done it. The effects are substantial, and surprisingly larger in humans than they were in animal tests.”

“These results signal an approaching paradigm shift in the care of heart attack patients,” said Shlomo Melmed, MD, dean of the Cedars-Sinai medical faculty and the Helene A. and Philip E. Hixon Chair in Investigative Medicine. “In the past, all we could do was to try to minimize heart damage by promptly opening up an occluded artery. Now, this study shows there is a regenerative therapy that may actually reverse the damage caused by a heart attack.”

Marban cautioned that stem cells do not do what people generally think they do. The general idea has been that stem cells multiply over and over again, and, in time, they turn themselves and their daughter cells into new, working heart muscle.

But Marban said the stem cells are actually doing something more amazing.

“For reasons we didn’t initially know, they stimulate the heart to fix itself,” he told Daniel J. DeNoon of WebMD. “The repair is from the heart itself and not from the cells we give them.”

Exactly how the stem cells invigorate the heart to do this was a matter of “feverish research” in the lab.

The CArdiosphere-Derived aUtologous stem CElls to reverse ventricUlar dySfunction (CADUCEUS) clinical trial was part of a Phase I study approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Marban used 25 volunteer patients who were of an average age of 53 and had recently suffered a heart attack that left them with damaged heart muscle. Each patient underwent extensive imaging scans so doctors could pinpoint the exact location and severity of the scars. Patients were treated at Cedars-Sinai in LA and at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Eight of the 25 patients served as a control group, receiving conventional medical treatment. The other 17 patients who were randomized to receive the stem cell treatments underwent a minimally invasive biopsy, under local anesthesia. Using a catheter inserted through a vein in the neck, doctors removed a small sample of heart tissue, about half the size of a raisin. The heart tissue was then taken to the lab at Cedars-Sinai and cultured and multiplied the cells using specially developed tools.

The doctors then took the multiplied heart-derived cells — roughly 12 million to 25 million of them per patient — and reintroduced them into the patient’s coronary arteries during another minimally invasive catheter procedure.

The process used in the trial was developed earlier by Marban when he was on the faculty at Johns Hopkins. Johns Hopkins has filed for a patent on the intellectual property and has licensed it to a company in which Marban has a financial interest. However, no funds from that company were used to support the clinical study. All funding was derived from the National Institutes of Health and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

This study followed another in which doctors reported using cells taken from the heart to heal the heart. That trial reported in November 2011 that cells could be used to heal the hearts of heart failure patients who were having heart bypass surgery.

And another trial is about to get underway in Europe, which will be the largest ever for stem cell therapy in heart attack patients.

The BAMI trial will inject 3,000 heart attack patients with stem cells taken from their bone marrow within five days of the heart attack.

Marban said despite the heart’s ability to re-grow heart muscle with the help of heart stem cells, they found no increase in a significant measure of the heart’s ability to pump — the left ventricle ejection fraction: the percentage of blood pumped out of the left ventricle.

Professor Anthony Mathur, a coordinating researcher for the upcoming BAMI trial, said that even if the Marban trial found an increase in ejection fraction then it would be the source of much debate. As it was a proof-of-concept study, with a small group of patients, “proving it is safe and feasible is all you can ask.”

“The findings would be very interesting, but obviously they need further clarification and evidence,” he told BBC News.

“It’s the first time these scientists’ potentially exciting work has been carried out in humans, and the results are very encouraging,” Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, told BBC News.

“These cells have been proven to form heart muscle in a petri dish but now they seem to be doing the same thing when injected back into the heart as part of an apparently safe procedure,” he added. “It’s early days, and this research will certainly need following up, but it could be great news for heart attack patients who face the debilitating symptoms of heart failure.”

—

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Stem Cells Regrow Healthy Heart Muscle In Heart Attack Patients

When a piece of muscle in a person’s heart dies from lack of blood flow, it scars over and is lost.  But a team of researchers from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles has proven that those muscles may not necessarily be gone forever.

In a ground-breaking study that may change how heart attacks are treated, Dr. Eduardo Marban and his team used stem cells to re-grow damaged heart muscle.  In the 17 patients who received the therapy, Marban measured an average 50 percent reduction in the size of the scar tissue

“One of the holy grails in medicine has been the use of medicine to achieve regeneration,” Marban said.  “Patients that were treated not only experienced shrinkage of their scars, but also new growth of their heart muscle, which is very exciting.”

The stem cells were not derived from embryos, but instead were developed from the patients’ own hearts.  Marban’s team inserted a catheter into the diseased hearts and took a small biopsy of muscle.  In the laboratory, the tissue was manipulated into producing stem cells.  After a few weeks of marinating in culture, researchers had enough stem cells to re-inject them into the patients’ hearts.  Over the course of a year, the stem cells took root in cardiac tissue, encouraging the heart to create new muscle and blood vessels.  In other words, the heart actually began to mend itself.

Click here to see an animation of how the process works.

“We’ve achieved what we have achieved using adult stem cells – in this case – actually specifically from a patient’s own heart back into the same patient.   There’s no ethical issues with that – there’s no destruction of embryos.  There’s no reason to worry about immune rejection."

While similar research has been done using stem cells from bone marrow, this is the first time that stem cells derived from a patient’s own cardiac tissue have been used.

Marban believes this therapy could be broadly used in many of the 5 to 7 million Americans who suffer from heart disease every year.  And he said the applications could go well beyond diseased hearts.

“If we can do that in the heart, I don’t see any reason, conceptually, why we couldn’t do it in kidneys for example, or pancreas or other organs that have very limited regenerative capacity,” Marban said.

While the procedure may be a revolutionary medical technique, there are still a few more puzzling questions about the research that Marban would like to investigate further.  For example, while the patients grew new heart muscle and saw a dramatic reduction in scar tissue, the actual function of their hearts did not show a significant improvement.  And it appeared the stem cells themselves may not have turned into cardiac muscle, but rather they stimulated the heart to produce new muscle cells.

Because this was a “Phase 1” study, it was really meant to measure whether the procedure was safe.  Of the 17 patients who were given the stem cell injections, six experienced “serious adverse events,” but only one was regarded to be possibly related to the treatment.  

The potential success of this research could hold a lot of promise for the millions of Americans who suffer from heart disease each and every year, which is the leading cause of death in the United States.  If his future experiments yield the same results as this initial study, Marban believes he could be offering this therapy to patients within four years – and that could go a long way in mending all of America’s broken hearts.

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Stem cells a fix for 'broken hearts'?

Click here to listen to this podcast

Valentine's Day can lead to plenty of broken hearts. But for cardiac wounds that time alone won't heal, science has made some major advances. When it comes to heart attack, for example, a big development is emerging from a tiny source. Stem cells are coming of age. 

Stem cells, harvested from a patient's own bone marrow, have been heralded as a potential quick fix for damaged heart tissue. But can these progenitor cells actually work to heal massive muscle damage?

A new review of 33 studies assessed data from more than 1,700 heart attack patients. The review researchers found that those patients treated with stem cells—in addition to the standard care of angioplasty—had stronger tickers for years to come than those who had not gotten stem cell therapy. The review article is published in The Cochrane Library. [David Clifford et al., Stem Cell Treatment for Acute Myocardial Infarction, link to come]

It's too early to say whether those with stem cell treatments will live longer, according to the new analysis. But for affairs of the heart, it's more evidence that good things can come in very small packages.

—Katherine Harmon

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast]  
 

Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
© 2012 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

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Stem Cells Help Heal Broken Hearts

February 14, 2012

(USA TODAY) -- Stem cells harvested from a patient's own heart can be used to help repair muscle damaged during a heart attack, according to a preliminary study published online Monday in The Lancet. Though it's too soon to know whether the technique will help patients live longer, the study is the second small, promising study of cardiac stem cells in three months.

The latest study involved 25 patients who had suffered serious heart attacks; 24% of their heart's major pumping chamber had been replaced by scar tissue. One year later, doctors saw no improvement in those randomly assigned to get standard care. Among the 17 given stem cells, however, "we reversed about half the injury to the heart," said study author Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, in an e-mail. "We dissolved scar and replaced it with living heart muscle."

Warren Sherman, director of stem cell research and regenerative medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, says the study was an important proof of the potential of stem cells -- harvested from patients, grown in the lab, then injected back into patients' hearts.

Doctors don't yet know exactly how the stem cells reduce the size of the dead zone of scar tissue, says Kenneth Margulies, director of heart failure and transplant research at the University of Pennsylvania.

The new study's encouraging results seem to confirm the findings of another small study of heart stem cells, published in The Lancet in November, which also showed an improvement in heart attack survivors who received the treatment, Margulies says. On the other hand, a third study found no benefit from stem cells created from patients' own bone marrow.

Copyright 2012 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

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Stem Cells Help Regrow Damaged Heart Tissue

Bone marrow drive at Guam Premier Outlets: Bone marrow drive at Guam Premier Outlets Written by Pacific Daily News
MYTHS AND FACTS

Myths and facts about bone marrow donation:
? Myth: All bone marrow donations involve surgery.
? Fact: The majority of donations do not involve surgery. Today, the patient's doctor most often requests a peripheral blood stem cell donation, which is non-surgical. The second way of donating is marrow donation, which is a surgical procedure. In each case, donors typically go home the same day they donate.

?Myth: Donating is painful and involves a long recovery.
?Fact: There can be uncomfortable but short-lived side effects of peripheral blood stem cell donation. Due to taking a drug called filgrastim for five days leading up to donation, peripheral blood stem cell donors may have headaches, joint or muscle aches, or fatigue. Donors are typically back to their normal routine in one to two days. Those donating marrow receive general or regional anesthesia, so they feel no pain during donation. Marrow donors can expect to feel some soreness in their lower back for one to two weeks afterward. Most marrow donors are back to their normal activities in two to seven days.

?Myth: Donating is dangerous and weakens the donor.
?Fact: Though no medical procedure is without risk, there are rarely any long-term side effects. Be The Match carefully prescreens all donors to ensure they are healthy and the procedure is safe for them. We also provide support and information every step of the way.

Because only 5 percent or less of a donor's marrow is needed to save the patient's life, the donor's immune system stays strong and the cells replace themselves within four to six weeks.

?For more myths and facts, and more information about bone marrow donation, visit http://www.bethematch.org. Be The Match Registry is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program.

More In News

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UPDATE: Sign up for the National Bone Marrow Registry now

BOCA RATON—

A physician from Indianapolis met the woman who saved his life on Sunday morning, providing an emotional kick-off for the second annual Walk for Life, sponsored by the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation.

"It's almost like a total out of body experience," said Scott Savader, 53, moments after he embraced former Sunrise resident Jill Rubin, who provided the stem cells that were transplanted into Savader's body nearly two years ago.

As the two met for the first time, about 300 people cheered before heading off on a 5K walk at Florida Atlantic University. The effort is part of a campaign to raise awareness and raise $100,000 for lab tests necessary to match donors and recipients.

Savader said receiving the transplant was "like being plucked from a fire or a sinking car. There is a bond there now that transcends just knowing somebody. If not for her generosity, I would have died."

Each year, 10,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with a disease treatable with a bone marrow transplant. Yet only about half find the donor who could save them, according to Jay Feinberg, the Delray Beach resident who started the foundation after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia.

He received a transplant in 1995 and has since dedicated his life to making matches for others.

Savader, a radiologist, was diagnosed with myelofibrosis in 2008.

Rubin, 45, a physical therapist, said she registered as a bone marrow donor 10 years ago while attending a fair in Plantation. She and her family have since moved to Deland.

"This is very emotional for me," said Rubin as she and Savader posed for pictures.

After spending a little time with Savader and his family Sunday, Rubin said she felt even better about her gift to him.

She also learned that Savader grew up and went to high school in Cooper City. "Small world," she said.

Temperatures in the 40s and a chilly wind did little to dampen enthusiasm for the walk. Participants were inspired by Savader and Rubin and other success stories.

Among the latter were 6-year-old Matthew Welling, on hand with his parents Michael and Susie Welling of Port Chester, N.Y., and Boca Raton resident Jill Goldsmith, who donated the bone marrow that reversed the boy's osteoporosis in 2007.

"It was an amazing, life-changing experience," said Goldsmith, 50, as she watched Matthew dance happily around a field at the university.

"What I had to do to save a life was so easy," said Goldsmith. "And to see him now, well, I feel proud and honored and so blessed."

During last year's walk, more than 1,000 new donors were added to the registry and resulted in 14 matches for patients throughout the U.S. They joined a total registry of nearly 200,000, said Feinberg.

Volunteering to become a potential donor begins with an oral swab that is then tested for tissue type. Most of the foundation's money goes toward paying for those lab tests, which cost about $55 each, said Feinberg.

For information, go to mwclary@tribune.com">http://www.giftoflife.org.

mwclary@tribune.com or at 954-356-4465

Original post:
Bone marrow recipient meets donor who gave him the gift of life

BOCA RATON—

A physician from Indianapolis met the woman who saved his life on Sunday morning, providing an emotional kick-off for the second annual Walk for Life, sponsored by the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation.

"It's almost like a total out of body experience," said Scott Savader, 53, moments after he embraced former Sunrise resident Jill Rubin, who provided the stem cells that were transplanted into Savader's body nearly two years ago.

As the two met for the first time, about 300 people cheered before heading off on a 5K walk at Florida Atlantic University. The effort is part of a campaign to raise awareness and raise $100,000 for lab tests necessary to match donors and recipients.

Savader said receiving the transplant was "like being plucked from a fire or a sinking car. There is a bond there now that transcends just knowing somebody. If not for her generosity, I would have died."

Each year, 10,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with a disease treatable with a bone marrow transplant. Yet only about half find the donor who could save them, according to Jay Feinberg, the Delray Beach resident who started the foundation after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia.

He received a transplant in 1995 and has since dedicated his life to making matches for others.

Savader, a radiologist, was diagnosed with myelofibrosis in 2008.

Rubin, 45, a physical therapist, said she registered as a bone marrow donor 10 years ago while attending a fair in Plantation. She and her family have since moved to Deland.

"This is very emotional for me," said Rubin as she and Savader posed for pictures.

After spending a little time with Savader and his family Sunday, Rubin said she felt even better about her gift to him.

She also learned that Savader grew up and went to high school in Cooper City. "Small world," she said.

Temperatures in the 40s and a chilly wind did little to dampen enthusiasm for the walk. Participants were inspired by Savader and Rubin and other success stories.

Among the latter were 6-year-old Matthew Welling, on hand with his parents Michael and Susie Welling of Port Chester, N.Y., and Boca Raton resident Jill Goldsmith, who donated the bone marrow that reversed the boy's osteoporosis in 2007.

"It was an amazing, life-changing experience," said Goldsmith, 50, as she watched Matthew dance happily around a field at the university.

"What I had to do to save a life was so easy," said Goldsmith. "And to see him now, well, I feel proud and honored and so blessed."

During last year's walk, more than 1,000 new donors were added to the registry and resulted in 14 matches for patients throughout the U.S. They joined a total registry of nearly 200,000, said Feinberg.

Volunteering to become a potential donor begins with an oral swab that is then tested for tissue type. Most of the foundation's money goes toward paying for those lab tests, which cost about $55 each, said Feinberg.

For information, go to mwclary@tribune.com">http://www.giftoflife.org.

mwclary@tribune.com or at 954-356-4465

Read more:
Bone marrow recipient meets donor who gave him gift of life

Bone marrow drive at Guam Premier Outlets: Bone marrow drive at Guam Premier Outlets Written by Pacific Daily News
MYTHS AND FACTS

Myths and facts about bone marrow donation:
? Myth: All bone marrow donations involve surgery.
? Fact: The majority of donations do not involve surgery. Today, the patient's doctor most often requests a peripheral blood stem cell donation, which is non-surgical. The second way of donating is marrow donation, which is a surgical procedure. In each case, donors typically go home the same day they donate.

?Myth: Donating is painful and involves a long recovery.
?Fact: There can be uncomfortable but short-lived side effects of peripheral blood stem cell donation. Due to taking a drug called filgrastim for five days leading up to donation, peripheral blood stem cell donors may have headaches, joint or muscle aches, or fatigue. Donors are typically back to their normal routine in one to two days. Those donating marrow receive general or regional anesthesia, so they feel no pain during donation. Marrow donors can expect to feel some soreness in their lower back for one to two weeks afterward. Most marrow donors are back to their normal activities in two to seven days.

?Myth: Donating is dangerous and weakens the donor.
?Fact: Though no medical procedure is without risk, there are rarely any long-term side effects. Be The Match carefully prescreens all donors to ensure they are healthy and the procedure is safe for them. We also provide support and information every step of the way.

Because only 5 percent or less of a donor's marrow is needed to save the patient's life, the donor's immune system stays strong and the cells replace themselves within four to six weeks.

?For more myths and facts, and more information about bone marrow donation, visit http://www.bethematch.org. Be The Match Registry is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program.

More In News

Read the original post:
UPDATE: Sign up for the National Bone Marrow Registry now

BOCA RATON—

A physician from Indianapolis met the woman who saved his life on Sunday morning, providing an emotional kick-off for the second annual Walk for Life, sponsored by the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation.

"It's almost like a total out of body experience," said Scott Savader, 53, moments after he embraced former Sunrise resident Jill Rubin, who provided the stem cells that were transplanted into Savader's body nearly two years ago.

As the two met for the first time, about 300 people cheered before heading off on a 5K walk at Florida Atlantic University. The effort is part of a campaign to raise awareness and raise $100,000 for lab tests necessary to match donors and recipients.

Savader said receiving the transplant was "like being plucked from a fire or a sinking car. There is a bond there now that transcends just knowing somebody. If not for her generosity, I would have died."

Each year, 10,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with a disease treatable with a bone marrow transplant. Yet only about half find the donor who could save them, according to Jay Feinberg, the Delray Beach resident who started the foundation after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia.

He received a transplant in 1995 and has since dedicated his life to making matches for others.

Savader, a radiologist, was diagnosed with myelofibrosis in 2008.

Rubin, 45, a physical therapist, said she registered as a bone marrow donor 10 years ago while attending a fair in Plantation. She and her family have since moved to Deland.

"This is very emotional for me," said Rubin as she and Savader posed for pictures.

After spending a little time with Savader and his family Sunday, Rubin said she felt even better about her gift to him.

She also learned that Savader grew up and went to high school in Cooper City. "Small world," she said.

Temperatures in the 40s and a chilly wind did little to dampen enthusiasm for the walk. Participants were inspired by Savader and Rubin and other success stories.

Among the latter were 6-year-old Matthew Welling, on hand with his parents Michael and Susie Welling of Port Chester, N.Y., and Boca Raton resident Jill Goldsmith, who donated the bone marrow that reversed the boy's osteoporosis in 2007.

"It was an amazing, life-changing experience," said Goldsmith, 50, as she watched Matthew dance happily around a field at the university.

"What I had to do to save a life was so easy," said Goldsmith. "And to see him now, well, I feel proud and honored and so blessed."

During last year's walk, more than 1,000 new donors were added to the registry and resulted in 14 matches for patients throughout the U.S. They joined a total registry of nearly 200,000, said Feinberg.

Volunteering to become a potential donor begins with an oral swab that is then tested for tissue type. Most of the foundation's money goes toward paying for those lab tests, which cost about $55 each, said Feinberg.

For information, go to mwclary@tribune.com">http://www.giftoflife.org.

mwclary@tribune.com or at 954-356-4465

Read this article:
Bone marrow recipient meets donor who gave him the gift of life

A new study by collaborating researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and L’Institut du Thorax in Nantes, France, indicates that stem cells derived from cardiac tissue are far more effective in repairing damage caused by a heart attack than therapies using stem cells taken from bone marrow. The study, published today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, suggests that human fetal cardiac-derived c-kit+ stem cells (CSCs) can be 30 times more potent than bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for treating a heart attack.

Durham, NC (PRWEB) February 07, 2012

A new study by collaborating researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and L’Institut du Thorax in Nantes, France, indicates that stem cells derived from cardiac tissue are far more effective in repairing damage caused by a heart attack than therapies using stem cells taken from bone marrow. The study, published today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, suggests that human fetal cardiac-derived c-kit+ stem cells (CSCs) can be 30 times more potent than bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for treating a heart attack.

As both of these cell types are currently in clinical trials, these results are significant because they are the first direct comparison of their therapeutic capability in vivo, the researchers say.

“This research — showing that CSCs can be 30 times more potent than MSCs — is significant because it can impact the design of future clinical trials,” said Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine and editor of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine. “The results from the study, one of a few to compare efficacy, have the potential to make the translation process more efficient, speeding the development of new effective therapies.”

The researchers conducted their study using mice models with induced acute myocardial infarction. The mice then received human fetal CSCs or either an equivalent (low dose) or ~30-fold greater number (high dose) of MSCs. Cells were injected immediately after the attack. A control group received PBS. The researchers performed additional experiments to address whether adult CSCs are as efficient as fetal CSCs. The fetal stem cells outperformed the adult-cultured CSCs, as expected; still, the researchers concluded that the latter were more potent than high-dose MSCs in treating a heart attack.

The animals were then evaluated at various intervals over a period of eight weeks. The results showed that the CSCs improved the left ventricle, which had been enlarged by the heart attack, plus lowered the ejection fraction. While the high doses of the MSCs showed similar results, the low-doses of MSCs had no effect.

“This study was motivated by the huge advances occurring in the translation of stem cell therapeutics for heart disease,” said Dr. Joshua Hare, senior author of the study and director of UM’s Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute. “While many candidate therapies are being considered there are few studies comparing relative efficacy. This study shows that tissue specific cardiac stem cells are highly potent, but that bone marrow stem cells are also efficacious. We hope these results will help guide future clinical trials of cell-based therapy for heart disease.”

In addition, said Dr. Behzad Oskouei of UM’s Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, “All cell therapies studied improved myocardial contractility, but the CSCs preferentially reduced scar size and vascular afterload. Engraftment and trilineage [cardiomyocyte, vascular smooth muscle, endothelial cell] differentiation was also substantially greater with CSCs than with MSCs.”

“It is clear that CSCs are superior in this regard and have potential advantages over MSCs to promote repair following ischemic heart damage. Furthermore, they are effective at a surprisingly low-dose/efficacy ratio,” Dr. Oskouei noted. “These findings offer key new insights into the cellular characteristics underlying successful cell-based cardiac repair.”

About AlphaMed Press: Established in 1983, AlphaMed Press with offices in Durham, NC, San Francisco, CA, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, publishes two other internationally renowned peer-reviewed journals: STEM CELLS® (http://www.StemCells.com), celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2012, is the world's first journal devoted to this fast paced field of research. The Oncologist® (http://www.TheOncologist.com), also a monthly peer-reviewed publication, entering its 17th year, is devoted to community and hospital-based oncologists and physicians entrusted with cancer patient care. All three journals are premier periodicals with globally recognized editorial boards dedicated to advancing knowledge and education in their focused disciplines.

###

Sharon Lee
AlphaMed Press / Stem Cells Translational Medicine
919-680-0011 230
Email Information

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Study shows cardiac stem cells outperform bone marrow stem cells in treating heart attacks

12-01-2012 17:50 Dr. H. Joachim Deeg, MD and Dr. Bart Scott, MD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discuss bone marrow and stem cell transplantation for MDS, MPD and aplastic anemia. This talk is from "Current Management of Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Myeloproliferative Disorders, Aplastic Anemia, and Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria," a conference for patients and their families that took place on June 19, 2010

Visit link:
Drs. Joachim Deeg and Bart Scott discuss bone marrow and stem cell transplantation - Video

16-01-2012 16:52 On October 1st, 2009 I was diagnosed with Leukemia. After 9 months of intense chemotherapy treatments, the decision was made that I would need a bone marrow transplant. A suitable donor was not found within my family so I would have to rely on the national Be The Match® marrow registry to locate one for me. A match was found and on August 18th, 2010 I underwent a stem-cell transplant using an unrelated donors stem-cells. Today, I'm cancer free! Her generosity and selflessness has allowed me to call myself a 'survivor'. This video was captured of my donor and I meeting face-to-face for the first time. It was truly an amazing experience! I have made it my life's mission to 'Pay it Forward'. After transplant, I started working for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society where I am able to use my wounds for good on a daily basis. My diagnoses was not in vain! To learn how you can help create a world without cancer, visit http://www.LLS.org and to join the Be The Match® registry, visit join.marrow.org

Original post:
Leukemia Survivor Meets His Bone Marrow Donor - Video

Bone Marrow for Joey: In this video, Joey Tyquiengco, 40, a former Guam resident asks for support from local residents in his search for matching bone marrow. Written by Meryl Dillman Pacific Daily News
Dr. Thomas Shieh, left, gets a helping hand from United employees after receiving a shipment of bone marrow test kits and supplies at the A.B. Won Pat Guam International Airport's cargo facility in Tiyan, yesterday. United provided the transportation of the kits, free of charge as a community service, from Hawaii to Guam, said Quentin Koch, United director of sales, Guam and Micronesia. / Rick Cruz/Pacific Daily News/rmcruz@guampdn.com

IF YOU GO

A bone marrow drive will be held at Guam Premier Outlets from Friday through Sunday.

The times are below:

•Friday from 1 to 6 p.m.

•Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

•Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

If you want to help with the drive, please contact Dr. Thomas Shieh at doctorshieh@yahoo.com or by pager at 635-8360.

Dr. Shieh, president of the Guam Medical Association

MYTHS AND FACTS

Myths and facts about bone marrow donation:

•Myth: All bone marrow donations involve surgery.

•Fact: The majority of donations do not involve surgery. Today, the patient's doctor most often requests a peripheral blood stem cell donation, which is non-surgical. The second way of donating is marrow donation, which is a surgical procedure. In each case, donors typically go home the same day they donate.

•Myth: Donating is painful and involves a long recovery.

•Fact: There can be uncomfortable but short-lived side effects of peripheral blood stem cell donation. Due to taking a drug called filgrastim for five days leading up to donation, peripheral blood stem cell donors may have headaches, joint or muscle aches, or fatigue. Donors are typically back to their normal routine in one to two days. Those donating marrow receive general or regional anesthesia, so they feel no pain during donation. Marrow donors can expect to feel some soreness in their lower back for one to two weeks afterward. Most marrow donors are back to their normal activities in two to seven days.

•Myth: Donating is dangerous and weakens the donor.

•Fact: Though no medical procedure is without risk, there are rarely any long-term side effects. Be The Match carefully prescreens all donors to ensure they are healthy and the procedure is safe for them. We also provide support and information every step of the way.

Because only 5 percent or less of a donor's marrow is needed to save the patient's life, the donor's immune system stays strong and the cells replace themselves within four to six weeks.

•For more myths and facts, and more information about bone marrow donation, visit http://www.bethematch.org. Be The Match Registry is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program.

More In News

See more here:
Marrow donors wanted: Bone marrow drive to begin Friday

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com)—

A simple test could cure a child with blood cancer or sickle cell anemia, yet some people are just too scared to do it.

'I mean you could save someone`s life,' explained Denise Mosley, with 'Be The Match', the National Marrow Donor Program. 'You just never know if you could be that one person that could possibly save someone`s life. Unless you join the registry you`ll just never know.'

'And we need as many people on the registry as possible,' she added.

Saturday morning inside Harris Stowe State University in Midtown St. Louis, Dr. Rohan Ahluwalia added his name to the registry. By giving a simple tissue sample, he was giving hope.

He registered to be a donor of bone marrow, or blood stem cells, which can treat or even cure many blood cancers and diseases. Mosley said some people are afraid of signing up to be a donor, because of myths. They believe the donor process is painful.

'It`s very similar to giving platelets or plasma,' she said. 75 percent of the time, donors give cells through their veins. Only a quarter of the time is surgery required, and patients are under anesthesia for that.

Donating doesn`t have to be painful, she said. It is joyful.

'I recently met a lady, she`d been on the registry more than 20 years and then she matched someone and you just never know,' she explained. 'There was also a student at SLU who donated over winter break and she said it changed her life. She wasn`t thinking of the patient. Of course, it changed them, but it changed the donor`s life tremendously.'

Registering is only a four step process that takes 15 minutes or less. There are no needles and no blood. It`s just paperwork, and a swab of the cheek. Tissue samples are analyzed, kept in a bank, and if they ever match a patient in need of a transplant, that donor is contacted.

The registry was held on the campus of Harris Stowe, a traditionally black college, for a good reason.

'Bone marrow recipients are most likely to receive a donation from someone of their same race or ethnicity,' explained Dr. Muyabit Adelani, one of the organizing residents. 'Unfortunately, there aren`t enough minority donors on the list.'

Mosley added startling numbers. 'We are desperate to get more minorities on the registry. We have about 9 million people on the registry currently, 6.5 million of those are Caucasian.'

Ahluwalia is one of the residents who helped organize the drive. He registered himself because he`s planning a career in oncology. Perhaps his own cells could cure one of his own patients.

'What`s drawn me in is having seen the difficult scenarios a lot of cancer patients go through, and the impact physicians can have on their lives by helping treat their sometimes incurable diseases. Or sometimes helping them cure their disease,' he said. 'I think one step would be to volunteer my own stem cells to help somebody.'

'I think it`s a process any citizen should participate in,' he said. 'Imagine down the line being able to help someone survive. Five, ten, 20, or even 30 years added onto their lives.'

Go here to see the original:
Harris Stowe State University Hosts Successful Bone Marrow Drive

By McClatchy-Tribune

STAMFORD — Justin Wexler, 12, a seventh-grader at Scofield Magnet Middle School, is asking Stamford residents to "be a super hero on Super Bowl Sunday" by registering to be a bone marrow donor.

Justin is hosting a donor drive at the Jewish Community Center, at 1035 Newfield Ave., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday for his mitzvah project, a contribution to the community before his bar mitzvah.

"Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time to do this early in the day and get back home in time to watch the game," said Justin, who will be rooting for the Giants on Sunday.

The donor drive will take about six minutes for each participant from start to finish, he said, calmly spelling out the detailed process step-by-step as he sat at the head of his family’s dining room table Tuesday afternoon, his bright blue eyes shining.

"You walk into the JCC, and first you’ll come to a station and they’ll tell you the eligibility requirements ... then you fill out a basic registration form and go off to the swabbing station," he said. Each donor will then take a swab from the inside of their left and right cheek and wrap their samples up with their information.

"That’s it. It doesn’t take long," he said. "But think about what could come from it."

Justin came up with the idea for a bone marrow drive around Thanksgiving, as he and his mother reflected on his father’s experiences as a bone marrow donor for a woman in Long Island about two years ago. Justin’s grandfather also donated bone marrow before Justin was born. The idea that his family members were able to save others’ lives so easily stuck with him.

There are nearly 3 million potential donors registered with DKMS, the bone marrow donor center through which Justin will run his drive. But with a new diagnosis every four minutes, the donor reserves still aren’t enough; 60 percent of bone cancer patients never receive the transplants they need.

"It’s like finding a needle in a haystack," Justin said. His hope is that his drive will add 180 new names to that registry, and that someone will someday be a match for someone else in need. He chose the number 180 because it is a multiple of 18, a spiritual number in the Jewish faith that has strong ties to "life."

"It’s mitzvah, and trying to give someone else a life, so we thought 180 would be a good goal," he said. Continued...

While Justin said he is hoping to sign up scores of potential donors, he stressed that people should not register if they’re not absolutely certain they will be willing to go through with the transplant. He mentioned a boy around his age in Texas that he met around the holidays, who recently found a non-related donor for his second transplant after a transplant from his brother did not work as well as he and his doctors had anticipated.

"Imagine if they found him a match and then they said no," Justin said.

There are two ways to donate if a match is found. About 80 percent of the time, a donor’s blood is removed from one arm with a needle, blood stem cells are filtered out and the remaining blood is pumped back into the other arm. In the other method, marrow cells are collected from a donor using a special syringe.

The first option can often take two days, while the second takes about one or two hours in outpatient surgery. While flu-like side effects can occur for about 48 hours after the first option, donors usually experience some pain, bruising and stiffness for up to two weeks after the second option, according to DKMS.

"I think most people when they find out someone has cancer, they feel helpless, but this could be an opportunity to save someone’s life," said Justin’s mother, Robin Wexler.

Justin’s not old enough to swab his own cheeks for the cause — donors have to be between the ages of 18 and 55 — but he said he is glad to be helping by spreading the word.

"Maybe someone will show up on Sunday, someone who’s never even thought about doing this before, and maybe that person will be a match; maybe they’ll save a life," he said. "Imagine that."

Go here to see the original:
Stamford seventh-grader hosting bone marrow donor drive Super Bowl Sunday

2 February 2012 Last updated at 08:31 ET

More than 100 police officers in Cornwall have signed up to become bone marrow donors.

Insp Dave Meredith, of Devon and Cornwall Police, had appealed to staff to register for the medical procedure.

So far, 110 officers in Cornwall have signed up to the register in three weeks, with a call to Devon officers due to follow.

Insp Meridith said: "I'm very impressed but I think this reflects on the goodwill of the officers and staff."

'Saving someone's life'

Insp Meredith said he decided to encourage registration after the donation method changed.

Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

The bigger the pool, the bigger the chance”

End Quote Karen Archer Anthony Nolan charity

Donors register by providing a sample of saliva, and then 80% of those asked to donate, do so by giving blood, from which their stem cells are retrieved.

Insp Meredith said: "In light of those changes I thought I've really got to take one step forward.

"People were a little apprehensive at first but once they thought about it and realised the implication and that they were potentially saving someone's life they readily agreed."

Simon Wilcock, an officer in Newquay who had Hodgkin's Lymphoma ten years ago, said: "I was on chemotherapy at the time and it had worked to a point.

"But it had got to the stage where without a transplant there's no doubt that in a few months I probably wouldn't have survived."

The appeal to the force was issued three weeks ago with the volunteers required to be aged between 18 and 40, although those on the register remain on it until they turn 60.

Karen Archer from the charity, Anthony Nolan, said: "It takes one person to save a life so if we've got 110 people joining the register then that's amazing news.

"People can be waiting years for that one right person to join the register, but there are 1000s of people waiting at any one time.

"The bigger the pool, the bigger the chance."

The rest is here:
Police officers offer bone marrow