Video: Dr. Joel McGuirk and the Adult Stem Cell Revolution

Today the Charlotte Lozier Institute releases its sixth in its series of Stem Cell Research Facts videos. This story features the work of Dr. Joseph McGuirk, an adult stem cell expert at the University of Kansas Hospital, and tells the story of Chance Runnion’s recovery from leukemia after an adult stem cell transplant.

Dr. McGuirk has been treating cancer patients for 27 years. He has always been excited and optimistic about the future of his patients, but never like he is now. “Every day is an exciting day,” McGuirk says. “We are in the midst of a revolution in cancer medicine right now.”

Chance Runnion returned from a Caribbean cruise with family and friends and in short order a red dot on the inside of his right knee grew to the size of a softball. After getting it checked out, the diagnosis came back the same day: leukemia. The first thing Chance thought was, “I’m going to die.”

Dr. McGuirk knows that not long ago, almost every patient like Chance who came to his clinic died in a relatively short period of time. Today, he says, more than half of them will live, thanks to adult stem cell transplants. Still, Dr. McGuirk knows that there is much more to be done, and that the promise of adult stem cells is not close to being exhausted. His mission: “to make the world better for others.”

Chance underwent an adult stem cell transplant, and he says he knows that the transplant is saving his life. Dr. McGuirk notes, “One of the reasons I’m so excited about adult stem cell therapy [is] because this young man is going to get his life back on track and get back to college and have a family and do things he wants to do in life and deserves to be able to do in life. He can make his contribution to make things better for others.”

Watch Chance and Dr. McGuirk share their experiences with adult stem cells in CLI’s new video:

Many others like Chance are currently being treated using ethically-derived, non-controversial adult stem cell transplants, which do not require the destruction of young human life. In fact, Dr. McGuirk says, “I am not aware that embryonic stem cells… have been used as a life-saving therapy for anyone with any disorder.” Meanwhile, well over one million patients worldwide have been treated using adult stem cell transplants. In 2014 alone, nearly 20,000 bone marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants were performed in the United States, according to the national Health Resources and Services Administration’s Blood Cell Transplant Report.

Stem Cell Research Facts is a project of the Charlotte Lozier Institute since January 2015. CLI plans to continue producing inspiring videos like Dr. McGuirk and Chance Runnion’s to raise awareness about the life-saving, research-based, and ethical treatment option of adult stem cell transplants. Don’t miss the opportunity to view the entire series – and tell your friends, some of whom may someday benefit from these astonishing therapies.

To view other patient videos, please see: http://www.stemcellresearchfacts.org/.

To learn more about the usage of adult stem cell transplants, please see: https://lozierinstitute.org/fact-sheet-adult-stem-cell-research-transplants.