Some Go Outside of the U.S. for Stem Cell Treatments

Sunday, 27 May 2007
Source: The Salt Lake TribuneBy Lisa RosettaThree months after experimental adult stem cell treatment in China, Tori Schmanski can take a cookie from her father's hand. It's a big step for the 16-year-old, who two years ago suffered a brain injury that left her unable to walk or talk. The Schmanskis, like a growing number of Americans, feel they can't wait for U.S. scientists to prove new adult stem cell therapies safe or effective. With few treatment options here, the Orem girl's parents took her to the Beike Biotechnology Company's stem cell clinic in Hangzhou in January. The family paid $20,000 for five injections of 50 million adult stem cells into Tori's spinal cord fluid, with aggressive physical therapy and acupuncture. Her last injection was Feb. 12, and the family believes it will take up to eight months for the therapy to work, said her father, Tim. Still, "her swallowing, eating and chewing are much improved," he adds. Tori has been able to finish off an apple and is vocalizing more, and her family hopes for even "bigger and better improvements," he said. At 14, Tori was a dancer and snowboarder with dreams of attending Stanford University and becoming a doctor. In June 2005, a car she was riding in rolled and landed in a canal, trapping her underwater for about 20 minutes. At least eight other families have contacted the family's Web site, prayfortori.com, then traveled overseas themselves. One Utah family, whose daughter suffered a brain injury in a car accident, is in China now, he said. The Schmanskis will likely take Tori back for another treatment next year. "It is the thing that will help (Tori) the most eventually, I'm convinced of that," said Tim, who urges increased funding for research. "In the end, it's just going to help so many people. I don't see how we can not do it."