Blind Calgary baby travelling overseas for stem cell therapy
06.10.2008 16:01
Health
- Source: cbc.ca
 Jakob Bielskis's optic nerves did not develop properly in utero, leaving him blind. (CBC)The Calgary parents of a 10-month-old blind baby are heading to China in the hopes stem cell therapy will give him some sight. Jakob Bielskis has optic nerve hypoplasia, which means the nerves from his eyes to his brain failed to develop properly in utero. There are no drugs, treatments or surgeries offered in Canada for his condition. Desperate to give their son some vision, Jakob's mother, Dawn Villeneuve, found a company in China that began offering stem cell transplants to foreign patients in May. The company claims the 18 children that have undergone the treatment have recovered some vision. Doctors will inject millions of stem cells to try to stimulate Jakob's optic nerves. Stem cells are in early stages of development and have the ability to become any type of cell to form skin, bones, organs or other body parts. The therapy is controversial in North America because the best source of stem cells is human embryos.  Dawn Villeneuve and Richard Bielskis pack for their trip to China with 10-month-old Jakob. (CBC)Villeneuve said the family's doctors don't support their decision. "They often give me opinions based on adult stem cells, or embryonic stem cells, which are not what we're using. It's umbilical cord stem cells which come from live births, from the placenta of a healthy baby that's born," she told CBC News on Friday. "It's not coming from abortions or other things that might be morally questionable." The family, which leaves for China on Saturday, believes the benefits are greater than the risks. "Anything that's ever been new has always been controversial — heart transplants, blood transplants, insulin, immunization," said Rena Charney, Jakob's grandmother. "This is another one." Richard Bielskis, Jakob's father, admits he's nervous about the procedure, but said they have to try. "For his mother and I to know that we did everything that we could, you know, that makes us feel that we did our part," he said. It's believed Jakob will be the first Canadian child to receive the treatment. Story Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKRelatedInternal LinksIN DEPTH: Stem cellsCanada donates $100M to cancer stem cell researchExternal LinksWebsite for Jakob Bielskis(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window) Health HeadlinesPolicy change delayed alarm signal over listeria, inspectors sayInspectors with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency say their hands-on role at meat plants changed with a CFIA policy introduced three months before the listeriosis outbreak.For-profit clinics double-billing: reportThe federal government has failed to enforce the Canada Health Act's requirements for equal access to hospital care, instead allowing more for-profit medical clinics over the last five years, the Ontario Health Coalition said in a report released Monday.Obesity linked to higher risk of death from prostate cancer: studyMen with prostate cancer who are overweight or obese are more than twice as likely as men of normal weight to die of the disease — and increased levels of insulin may be a major reason, researchers say.Nobel medicine prize awarded to 3 EuropeansThree European scientists won the 2008 Nobel prize for medicine on Monday for discovering the viruses that cause cervical cancer and AIDS.Long sick leaves may signal early death risk: studyPeople who take extended sick leave from work may be at a higher risk of dying early, a finding that could help doctors identify life-threatening problems sooner. Health FeaturesIN DEPTHNobel PrizeFrom Alfred's willIN DEPTHFood additivesPreservation with a risk?HEALTHPsychologyInside the endurance athlete's mindVIEWPOINTHeather MallickFat and food: what's the real crisis?HEALTHTuberculosisAnatomy of a killerCHILD PSYCHOLOGYPoliticians' behaviourHow do we explain it to our kids?People who read this also read …
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