News

LA JOLLA, February 15, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A California man who suffered from a form of heart disease called Myocardial Ischemia has been successfully treated with his own stem cells and enjoyed Valentine’s Day with his wife with a romantic dinner. Mildred Salas said, “My heart is singing now. I have my best friend back. He has so much energy, so much passion. What’s happened is a miracle.” Her husband, Anthony Salas, was in pain from angina and was taking nitroglycerine tablets and morphine.

Doctors at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla took stem cells filtered out of his blood and injected them into his heart where they changed into heart cells and repaired the damaged tissue. The treatment was part of a study, involving 24 seriously ill patients, investigating the possibility of using adult stem cells to help a patient’s heart grow new blood vessels.

Salas’ doctor, Richard Schatz, said, “He’s asymptomatic now. His time on treadmill has doubled. … All the evidence concurs that the therapy has helped him.” 

The treatment, called, Autologous Stem Cell Transplant, is no longer uncommon and is also used in treating various forms of cancer such as multiple myeloma. A retired professor, and long-time pro-life activist, John Muggeridge, wrote that his own stem cell treatment gave him a new lease on life after being diagnosed with cancer. Muggeridge wrote in the July 2003 edition of the Interim newspaper, that since his largely painless treatment, “my stem cells continue steadfastly to go about their business…I still may. God willing, I have another five years ahead of me.” 

Interim article by John Muggeridge describing Autologous Stem Cell Transplant.