Health Care

by Jerry Steele

Malcolm Anderson, 81, of Hudson, New York, reports that his ejection fraction (a measure of the heart's pumping function) has increased from 41% to 55%, thanks to a new adult stem cell therapy, that he received in Bangkok, Thailand.

Malcolm Anderson, was very worried when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He was going downhill. Malcolm asked his doctor, "What can I do about congestive heart failure?" His doctor replied, "you can take lasix." "I thought there must be something better than taking lasix the rest of my life" said Malcolm.

"I had an ejection fraction of 41%, not debilitating, but, long term, not good. I knew it would gradually get worse and worse."

Malcolm decided to search the internet and look for an alternative method of treating his congestive heart failure. He found that option in Theravitae, a biotechnology company in Thailand, that developed a procedure to treat congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease using a patient's own stem cells.

Theravitae's Vescell adult stem cell technology employs adult stem cells harvested from a small amount of the patient's own blood and does not require bone marrow extraction.

"I thought if it doesn't do any good, at least it doesn't do any harm," said Malcolm.

Malcolm was a little apprehensive before his arrival in Bangkok in March, 2007. "Once I got there, it was a piece of cake. They took great care of me from the moment I arrived at the airport."

Malcolm's own stem cells were implanted into his coronary arteries via catheter in a simple procedure very similar to an angioplasty.

Eight months later, the stem cell therapy has improved Malcolm's quality of life. "I recently visited my doctor - my diagnosis now is that I don't have heart failure anymore! My ejection fraction is 55%. That is a 30% increase! I'm feeling top shelf. I'm working again. I'm happy."

About the Author
Jerry Steele is Outreach Director at Theravitae, an international biotechnology company in Thailand that specializes in treating heart patients with their own stem cells. The company maintain a blog about stem cell therapy.