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Washington, D.C., Jul 26, 2007 - Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04) and Congressman Daniel Lipinski (IL-03) joined today with patients who have been successfully treated with adult stem cell therapies, and doctors who have treated diseases with such therapies, in announcing the introduction of H.R. 2807, the Patients First Act.

The purpose of H.R. 2807 is to intensify research that may result in treatments for diseases and other adverse health conditions. The bill seeks to promote research and human clinical trials using stem cells that are ethically obtained and show evidence of providing near-term clinical benefit for human patients, and to promote the creation of pluripotent stem cell lines without the creation of human embryos, or the destruction or discarding of human embryos.

“The issue of embryonic stem cell research has become divisive, and when there are cures and human lives at stake, divisiveness is not a luxury that we have,” Forbes said. “This bill seeks to bridge political divides, to turn our focus to more pragmatic ways of encouraging scientific development in the field of stem cells, and to devote our energies and our resources on the common goal shared by both sides of the embryonic stem cell debate - curing and treating patients.”

“The Patients First Act seeks to provide hope for millions of Americans,” said Lipinski. “I can personally appreciate hope because I have juvenile diabetes, which I must monitor and treat several times each day. This bill ensures that finding cures for diabetes and other more devastating diseases is correctly prioritized, while proving that we don’t have to choose between advancing medical techniques and contentious life issues.”

The following patients and doctors attended the press conference today to discuss the importance of prioritizing stem cell research with near-term clinical benefits:

• Stephen Sprague, a patient who has been completely free of his leukemia since his cord blood stem cell treatment almost 10 years ago.
• Doug Rice, a patient who, eight years ago, was told he had two years left to live with congestive heart failure. He was successfully treated with his own adult stem cells that were injected into his heart.
• Dr. Amit Patel, a doctor with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who has treated numerous patients for heart damage with adult stem cells.
• Dr. Julio Voltarelli, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who has successfully treated Juvenile (Type I) Diabetes patients with their own adult stem cells.
• Dr. Jaider Abbud, one of 13 patients who were the first ever to be treated for Type 1 Diabetes using adult stem cells, in a clinical trial led by researchers from Northwestern University and Brazil. Dr. Abbud became insulin free after receiving an adult stem cell transplant using his own blood stem cells.

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