David SteenBlock, M.S., D.O. and Anthony G. Payne, Ph. D. wrote this short book for the average person looking for answers about stem cells. Vivid stories of miraculous healing fill the majority of the pages but the reader will also find a first-rate science lesson about how stem cells work as well as a deeper look into nutrition and lifestyle choices.
The authors begin by providing a basic lesson on stem cells derived from embryos, umbilical cord blood, and those residing in each living thing. The reader learns how stem cells work and how doctors have harnessed their ability to transform. It’s fascinating to learn that stem cells have been under investigation for about 100 years, although it is just within the last few years that they have been used as treatment for disease and disorders.
The bulk of the book will convince any reader of the benefits of using stem cell therapy. Stories of otherwise normal lives devastated by neurological diseases, stroke, and accidents will give the reader a small view into what it might be like to cling to hope against every doctor’s negative prognosis. Stem cells arrive in each of the stories as a miracle treatment for people who physically could not swallow, walk or hold up their head. It’s interesting to note that most of the stories don’t seem to have been in the mainstream media as these patients were getting treatments in Mexico where federal regulations do not apply. The most recent anecdote featured in the book took place in 2005 and the political landscape today is more accommodating of these still-experimental treatments.
Rest assured the authors are not trying to get you to pay to bank your cord blood. Not one of the stories includes someone using their own or family members cord blood. However, after reading the benefits that people have derived from publicly-banked stem cells, you may be compelled to look again at the possibility of banking a matching stem cell for yourself and your children. On the whole, this book will help any expectant mother make an educated decision about what to do with her baby’s umbilical cord blood. Pick up a copy here.