Washington D.C., Jul 31, 2007 / 09:15 am
Doctors and patients, who have participated in medical treatments derived from adult stem cells, have expressed support for the Patients First Act of 2007 — new federal legislation that will promote such research, reported Cybercast News Service.
David Prentice, a senior fellow with the Center for Human Life and Bioethics, told a Washington press conference last week about the benefits of adult stem cells.
He noted that over the last few years, scientists have learned that virtually every tissue of the adult body has adult stem cells. They can be gathered from bone marrow, amniotic fluid, the placenta, testicular tissue, cord blood and nasal tissue. Furthermore, they are very flexible when used to treat a number of diseases or injuries, he said.
"After a heart attack, some of the heart tissue is damaged or dead," Prentice stated. "We can now inject these adult-type stem cells into the damaged part of the heart and stimulate repair of that tissue."