Rob Waddell has had a kidney transplant, but he takes no anti-rejection drugs to prevent his body from rejecting the transplanted kidney.
The trick? Adult stem cells! These versatile, life-saving cells have many uses beyond tissue repair and maintenance.
Rob has a genetic problem called polycystic kidney disease. As his kidney function deteriorated, he was told by his doctor that he would need a kidney transplant.
With organ transplants, the recipient must usually take large doses of anti-rejection drugs for the rest of their life, to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ. But the drugs are also a double-edged sword, because their toxicity eventually can lead to deterioration of the transplanted organ, especially in the case of kidneys.
Rob signed up for a clinical trial where he received bone marrow adult stem cells from the kidney donor. Those adult stem cells became part of Rob’s immune system, and “re-trained” his body to recognize the donated kidney as his own.
Rob now lives a fully active life, and WITHOUT taking anti-rejection drugs. All because of the adult stem cell transplant. Adult stem cells really are life savers.
You can see Rob’s video story at www.stemcellresearchfacts.org/rob-waddell-defeats-kidney-dis. You can view other success stories of patients treated with adult stem cells at www.stemcellresearchfacts.org.
