All excellent points Barbara... and certainly well made. I'm not sure about the assessment that they are focused primarily on research as at the 2009 Baltimore conference there were many sessions involving patient advocacy groups. It was actually at that conference I became convinced that the power is in the patient and I know their focus is increasingly there.
It is my impression from my discussions with the people who run the organization that they are interested in the most rapid development of stem cell therapies possible and they are agnostic as to the source. With that in mind, the scientific community is acknowledging more and more that the controversy over the use of embryos as a source of stem cells has become superfluous with the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells. Recent studies indicate iPSCs are functionally equivalent to embryonic stem cells in any parameter that matters in terms of tissue replacement or regeneration although there is much work to be done. I can see that almost all those interested in stem cell function, autologous or otherwise, will rapidly move to the use of these uncontroversial, patient-matched, and pluripotent cells for most applications. The use of ESCs will be largely regulated to research and study of development while autologous sources will continue to be a sharp point of focus as agents which target these populations in the niches they occupy within the body may prove more and more powerful, negating the need to use external sources of cells entirely for many cases.
I'm interested in hearing more about the results that you may be aware of with autologous stem cells as it is my impression that they are marginal, at least in the areas I've read they have been tried although certainly in some cases it seems such treatments have been worth the effort and expense.
Regardless, I might venture to say that my discussions with others have led me to understand that the major progress we would like to see in all areas of stem cell therapy development will be made outside of North America and Europe, with therapies becoming available in Asia and India sooner because of the resources they are putting into the field and the more permissive regulatory environment. As a patient, I'm quite agnostic as to where I need to fly to get a treatment but it from a cost perspective it is horrible that many will die because they cannot afford the trip. It would be better if they were accessible to as many of my friends and colleagues who needed them as possible.
I would suggest that the supporting multiple organizations is a superior way forward as it is difficult to predict where the breakthroughs are going to take place. As much pressure and support as can be supplied on multiple fronts is for me the best strategy.
I would really love to see all organizations interested in developing stem cell therapies support each other as much as their resources and time make it possible, focusing on the result which binds them rather than the differences which divide. The result is what everyone is in it for.