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Ukraine Stem Cell Diabetes Treatment

Medical professionals in Russia and Ukraine have been treating patients with stem cells for over 20 years. Ukraine's Institute for Cryobiology and Cryomedicine recorded data on 1,740 patients treated with fetal stem cells for a variety of illnesses. Diabetes, a disease that continues to increase worldwide, was among the medical conditions alleged to show marked improvement with stem cell treatment.

  1. Types of Stem Cells

    • Stem cells are derived from several sources. Adult stem cells can be taken from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, brain, fat tissue and skin. Embryonic stem cells come from a ball of cells called the blastocyst that develops approximately five to six days after fertilization of an egg. The embryo becomes a fetus approximately eight weeks after fertilization. The fetus is the source of fetal liver cells (FLC) used in Ukraine's stem cell diabetes treatment.

      As stated by the Institute of Regenerative Medicine (IRM), in their summary of the data collected in 2004 by the Institute of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine, the fetal stem cells were harvested from 5 to 12-week-old aborted fetuses. Fetal stem cells are already developing the necessary attributes for becoming specific organs or tissues. At this stage of development, the need for tissue matching to avoid rejection is not necessary because HLA, the protein that causes this reaction, does not develop until after 12 weeks gestation.

    Stem Cell Treatment Succeses

    • IRM reports that of the 1,740 Ukraine patients followed for one to eight years after treatment with fetal stem cells, 222 were diabetics, and 230 were suffering from diabetic retinopathy. Treatment results were assigned to three categories: Significant---indicating measurable improvement or normalization of one or more disease attributes; Partial---indicating the disease was held in abeyance and ceased to progress; and None---indicating no change.

      Of the 222 diabetics, 206 demonstrated partial results and 16 showed no change in the status or progression of the disease. The patients suffering from diabetic retinopathy were followed for 1 to 5 years. In the group of 230 patients, 194 showed significant improvement and 36 were classified with partial improvement.

      Another Ukraine study included in the IRM report involved 58 type 1 diabetic patients treated with placental tissue and insulin, and 23 type 1 diabetics treated with insulin alone. After one year, 34.6 percent of the 58 patients required less insulin as a result of the treatment, compared with 6.23 percent of the patients in the group receiving insulin alone.

    A Dark Note

    • The above successes, reported by the Institute of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine, and similar successful stem cell diabetes treatment by Embryonic Tissues Center (EmCell) in Kiev, as reported by Placid Way, are tainted by reports of babies stolen for body parts. Physicians for Life, March 2007, reports on the trafficking of baby body parts by EmCell in Ukraine and the Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Barbados. The BBC reported on December 12, 2006, that it had obtained a video of autopsies performed on 30 infants whose bodies were exhumed from the cemetery used by Hospital Number Six, Kharkiv, Ukraine. Brains and other organs were missing, and some of the bodies had been dismembered. These healthy newborns are alleged to have been killed to harvest their body parts for Ukraine stem cell treatments.

    Precautionary Guidelines

    • The International Society for Stem Cell Research released "New Guidelines to Shape Future Stem Cell Therapy," December 3, 2008, establishing guidelines for stem cell research and treatment. They offer a handbook for patients and doctors to assist in making decisions in reference to stem cell treatment and to prevent fraudulent exploitation of patients. They can be contacted at International Society for Stem Cell Research, 111 Deer Lake Road, Suite 100, Deerfield, Illinois 60015 USA, or by email: [email protected].

      If you are interested in stem cell treatment for a medical condition, discuss it with a trusted medical professional before making any decision. Avoid the heartbreak and financial devastation experienced by victims of unscrupulous people who make unsubstantiated promises of a cure.

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