My post on Runner's World
It took a bit for me to have my registration approved, but it finally was and I commented. It would be nice if others would too.
I have not been a member on this forum until now, although I would give anything in the world to be able to run; even to walk without portable oxygen would be great. I do believe that Abbaroodle's attacks seem to indicate a hidden agenda. I have a terminal lung disease. I also am co-founder of
www.stemcellpioneers.com, the largest patient moderated forum for stem cell discussion and support. We back ASCTA, founded by Dr. Centeno, 100%. Many of us who have been lucky enough to have autologous (our own stem cells) treatment out of this country have seen the progression of our diseases halted. Unfortunately, some are too ill or do not have the extra money to travel outside the U.S. and they are being given a death sentence because the FDA has declared our own stem cells to be drugs. ASCTA has put together guidelines for both physicians and laboratories that are safe and sensible and would allow those of us that want such treatment to be able to get it in the U.S., near where we live, from U.S. doctors who will follow these guidelines. Thousands of autologous stem cell treatments are done every year. I have seen no atrocious stories about this treatment, but there is potential for this type of therapy to be dangerous if not done properly. ASCTA will give us the safety net that we want. For many of us, this is not about a tendon or a blown knee, it is about our lives.
I do not understand what any of us have ever done to you Abbaroodle to warrant your spewing all over the internet trying to discredit Dr. Centeno and ASCTA. This grassroots effort will give millions of terminally and chronically ill patients access to treatment that may relieve them of their daily suffering and could save their lives. I simply do not understand your lack of compassion and morality on this issue. If you do not understand it, it is one thing. But if you do, try to put your self in our shoes (no they are not running shoes for sure) and then maybe you will understand why we appreciate the efforts of Dr. Centeno and the rest of the doctors, researchers and PHD's who do support ASCTA. We should have the right to have treatment with our own stem cells if we choose. These cells, in most instances, need to be manipulated in order to make them clinically relevant. The ASCTA guidelines address this issue in detail.
I have yet to see you posting on Fertility websites and yet fertility clinics are manipulating cells on a daily basis. They have their own guidelines that they have written and this works well for them. We ask that Dr. Centeno and other stem cell doctors be given this same opportunity. There should be no double standard.
President Obama campaigned on change and transparency. The FDA is a regulatory agency so intertwined with big pharmaceutical companies that they are no longer positioned to protect us. Instead the winners are the ones with the money. If ever a regulatory agency needed what President Obama campaigned on, it is the FDA. One well know researcher says we are facing a moral catastrophe in the U.S. I couldn't agree more.
No one is asking you or anyone else to have stem cell treatment, but don't take away the opportunity for those of us that need it to save our very lives. Give us the chance to wear running shoes. Barbara Hanson/Stem Cell Pioneers
