Imagine if there was a cure for Heart Disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Imagine if we could successfully treat cancer and blood disorders. Imagine if those with spinal cord damage could walk again.
Scientists are learning that the cure to all these conditions may be answered with stem cells. Stem cells are the building blocks of life, the bodies natural repair mechanism and discovering their remarkable regenerative properties has propelled the world into a race to harness the power of these super cells. And in this race, the East is leaving the West far behind.
Asia has set its sites on becoming the epicenter of stem cell technology. Many of the greatest breakthroughs in stem cell medicine are happening in Singapore, China, Thailand, Japan and Korea. And most surprisingly of all, many doctors in the East are already using stem cells on human patients with spinal cord injuries, heart disease and brain disorders.
Using stem cells on live subjects, before there have been clinical trials even on laboratory animals, has been called reckless by many skeptics. But for patients with incurable diseases, who have exhausted all other options, they believe it’s worth risking new therapies than having no therapies at all.
Unable to access stem cell treatment in their home countries, a growing number of patients from the West are flying to Asia for treatment. Many do so against their doctor’s advice, paying tens of thousands of dollars for a cure that is untried and untested. They don’t have time for medical research to catch up. Their illness has come at a time when stem cell medicine is on the horizon. In order to reach it, they must be prepared to be guinea pigs themselves.
Even the doctors administering stem cells do not know how they work. Do stem cells replace damaged cells or act as a catalyst to help existing cells recover? Will they cause tumors, infections, side effects? Could the cure be worse than the condition?
With no long term evidence of the risks or benefits patients are subjecting themselves to treatment before all the facts are known. Many believe this will backfire on the doctors and patients who have rushed ahead. The scope for catastrophe is considerable.
Yet the doctors already practicing stem cell medicine challenge us to think the unthinkable. They believe they can cure the incurable. If you were faced with a life-altering illness, is it a chance you would take?
Supercells delves into the science of stem cells and investigates treatments that are already underway in Asia. We follow the journey of patients to the East and we speak with the hopeful and the helpful to gain insight into this ground breaking medical field. It’s a journey of risk, emotion but most of all - hope.
Many believe stem cells will be the future of medicine – but in Asia, the future is already here.
Many believe stem cells will be the future of medicine – but in Asia, the future is already here. A growing number of patients from the West are flying to Asia for stem cell treatment for spinal cord injuries, heart disease and brain disorders. Many do so against their doctor’s advice, paying tens of thousands of dollars for a cure that is untried and untested. Many believe this will backfire on the doctors and patients who have rushed ahead. Others believe they are forging a new frontier in medical science. Can stem cells really cure the incurable?
Karina Holden Producer/Director Southern Star
KHolden@sstar.com.au
