Today the Charlotte Lozier Institute releases its fifth Stem Cell Research Facts video; this story features Doug Oliver’s recovery from macular degeneration after an adult stem cell transplant.
Doug Oliver started losing his eyesight when he was 32. He describes his vision then as like “a honeycomb of blind spots.” He could not discern his wife’s face while walking alongside her; he could not read under normal lighting; he could not exercise. Eventually, he almost hit two pedestrians in a crosswalk while driving into town.
After being declared legally blind, Doug suffered both mentally and emotionally. He even considered ending his life. Doug suffered from maculopathy, which he was told had no known treatment or cure. But the same doctor who told Doug that there was no hope for a cure later told him, “If there is going to be a solution to your problem, it’s not going to be in genetic therapy, it’s going to be in stem cells.”
Doug was treated with adult stem cells taken from his own bone marrow, and his vision was gradually restored.
Watch the story of Doug’s recovery from macular degeneration to the point that he now can see the “beautiful sparkle” in his wife’s blue eyes in CLI’s new video:
Many others like Doug 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, 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 Doug Oliver’s to raise awareness about the life-saving, research-based, and ethical treatment option of adult stem cell transplants.
To view other patient videos, please see: https://www.stemcellresearchfacts.org/.
