Hello Tom,
The question is a bit complicated to respond to and here is the absolute truthful reason. This may take a bit of time so please read on.
First, we (SCTI) have to deal with clinics and doctors outside of the United States in order for them to be able to perform stem cell transplantation therapy on patients we send to them. As you may know the standards for documentation are very different for operations in countries like the Ukraine, in Mexico and Latin America than they are here in the U.S.
The clinic in Kiev has been treating patients since 1991 and have claimed to have treated 25-30 various stroke related patients. The Doctors in Mexico have told us that they have treated 210 stroke patients. This is all well and good, but when we asked for supporting documentation, such as the condition of the patient, the type of treatment protocol, the test results before and after the stem cell therapy and any follow up documentation, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, etc. after the treatment there was little or no data available. We have some patient case Report Cards showing changes in a patients blood chemistry over a period of a few weeks, but little else.
But we have been at the clinics while patients have been treated there, we have watch the procedures, we have talked to some of the former patients and we feel very comfortable that the technology that we have is the best that is available and the clinic in Kiev is a brand new 30,000 sq. ft. lab & patient facility. I hope to have a virtual tour available soon to show everyone what the facility looks like. I am sending Rich a copy of the CD that has the pictures and perhaps I can work with Steve to make that available to all as well.
Now back to our problem. Once we (SCTI) sign agreements with any clinic or any treating physician that will be performing stem cell therapy for patients we refer to them, they must now adhere to our policies, procedures and standards. We are following the FDA clinical trial standards and have imposed this on all our operations. This means that there is a complete paper trail of documentation from the initial diagnosis of the patient by our Medical and Scientific Advisory Board members, to the examination that the patient gets when they arrive in Kiev, including a video tape of the mobility and current condition of the patient as you can see on our web site. The treatment protocol is documented. The patients progress is documented and at the post treatment examination another video is done to show the improvement along with test results to back up the therapy. We then stay in touch with the patients when they return home and follow up everytime they go to the doctor and get a copy of any test results or diagnostic reports. This procedure is also a long term commitment to stay with the patient as long as possible to document their recovery, like with Ian.
So, from our point of view we are starting at the beginning. We have treated on stroke patient and 3 patients with MS. I have 2 more MS patients scheduled for this month in Kiev and we hope to get Rich approved and into treatment as soon as possible, if the review process confirms that he is a good candidate for the stem cell therapy.
Our company is bringing our high standards of operations to all of our affiliate clinic locations and until we have the proper level of documentation to have for proof of efficacy we do not consider what has happened before of any use since we have poor or no documentation for support. When we go before the FDA in a year or two we will have hundreds of cases properly documented (as per their own standards) to present to them on the effective treatment of a number of degenerative conditions with stem cells. The will have a hard time not accepting the proof since we keep the patients identities confidential but we still make the treatment data a matter of public record.
Patients like Ian McBride and Sam Bonnar have given us permission to use their names and video's and data to promote the treatment out of gratitude for what stem cell transplantation has done in restoring their quality of life for them. However, I am sure the drug companies will be all over us if they think we are a threat by curing or helping patients without the use of drugs they have developed and depend on to maintain their revenue stream at the expense of patients in very dire straights.
So, sorry for the long monologue, but we hope to have enough documentation for people to see that stem cell transplantation therapy absolutely works. I have seen some amazing results.
The next time I am in Kiev, I am going to get stem cell transplantation therapy. I have a few minor medical problems, but nothing as serious as stroke or MS or diabetes. I want to be able to tell people first hand what it is like to have stem cell transplantation therapy and the effects that it will have on my physiology. I would not expect anyone to do what I am not prepared to do as well.
"A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single first step"
I'm into all that Zen stuff.
Hope this answers your question. If you want to discuss more about it please feel free to send me an email directly at peter@scticorp.com.
God Bless and my prayers are with you,
Peter