This is the story of Doug Oliver, who suffered from macular degeneration or progressive blindness for more than two years. His medical team conducted a stem cell treatment on him and now he has recovered his eyesight and is leading a healthy life.

Doug started losing his vision at the age of 32. When consulted with doctors, they told him that this was the result of macular degeneration and he would gradually lose his vision. Doctors did not give him any hope and said nothing could be done to regain his sight.

To make the situation worse for him, he met with an accident after the diagnosis, which made his stand in front of another devastating news. He might lose his vision completely. Some tests were done on him that revealed his vision was as 20/2000 in the left eye and 20/400 in the right eye.

However, having found out about his condition, Doug was not willing to give up. He was not ready to succumb to the prediction that his sight could not be cured. So, he started screening latest clinical studies, databases, and trials related to macular degeneration. This was the time when Doug discovered Dr. Jeffrey Weiss’s clinical trial with stem cells in order to treat macular degeneration.

Doug enrolled himself in the Florida-based trial in 2015. And only after two days of stem cell therapy, he started to feel a difference in his vision. The stem cell therapy involved extracting his own stem cells from his marrow of the hip bone. The stem cells then were injected directly into both of his retinas. Two days later, his vision showed an improvement to 20/40 in his left eye and 20/30 in the right eye.

The joy of seeing the world again in its full glory was evident in his confession that he made while he was going back home. He said, “I could see the boats and the little wake lines that you see from 30,000 feet. I acted like a 6-year-old and loved it.”[1]

Doug was an IT specialist and a social policy consultant. His job demanded a lot of traveling by car. During one of those drives, he realized that his vision was not as same as before. Moreover, the accident cost him his driving license as well, which eventually led him to lose his job. He was not only going through physical issues but also through a mental turmoil. An active person like him needed to rely on a monthly disability check. But stem cells helped him bounce back and how!

Doug has not only got his vision back, but he also gained his position back in the community. He said, “I went back to the DMV and got my license in Tennessee in December.”[2] He is currently in talks with Lamar Alexander, the Senate Health Committee Chairman, so his can share his experience and story with others. Doug’s story may also play a crucial role in passing the 21st Century Cures Act, which focuses on the advanced regenerative therapy and the required funding for clinical trials, similar to one he was a part of.

The post Stories of Hope: Cured Of Blindness: A Stem Cell Therapy Story appeared first on Stem Cell Banking Guide and Pregnancy Tips For New Parents.

Miracles happen. How many times have we heard this? But have you actually ever seen a miracle happen. This is the story of one man’s fight against blindness which eventually gave hope to millions of people.

It was on a family road trip to New Hampshire when the 54-year-old Doug Oliver was first made aware of how advanced his macular degeneration had become when he failed to see two pedestrians in a crosswalk and almost ran them down. The incident resulted in Doug receiving a $500 fine from a police officer who had witnessed the near accident and was also made to give up his driver’s license.

Doug had been previously diagnosed almost 20 years ago, with macular degeneration. However, back then his doctors had predicted that his vision would last until the age of 60. But following the accident, when his eyesight was reviewed, it revealed that he was almost blind. The tests showed he had 20/2000 vision in the left eye and 20/400 in the right. This new found disability severely affected his career as an IT specialist and social policy consultant. He had no choice but to depend on his monthly disability check to make ends meet.

His doctor advised Doug that the only way to find a cure for his ailment was to participate in clinical trials. After vociferously searching for such trials, Doug was finally able to reach out to a surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Weiss who was conducting an experiment on treating macular degeneration through stem cell banking. After flying out to Florida, Doug met with the doctors who were participating in the study. They extracted a bone marrow sample from his hip bone and with the help of an FDA-approved centrifuge, isolated the stem cells which were then injected into his eyes. Within 48 hours his vision improved. The vision in the left eye was 20/40 and in the right eye was 20/30.

Following the success of the treatment, Doug said, “I could see the boats and the little wake lines that you see from 30,000 feet. I acted like a 6-year-old and loved it”.

In order to garner government funding for such procedures, Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander invited Doug to Washington in June 2016. Doug was asked to speak to Mr. Alexander’s colleagues regarding his success story, in the hope that it would convince them to support the passing of the 21st Century Cures Act which legislates the funding of high risk, high reward clinical trials. He believes that the passing of this Act can revolutionize the healthcare industry.

So as the story goes… miracles do happen, or at least in Doug Oliver’s case, a modern ‘medical miracle’ did happen.

The post Stories of Hope: Cured Blind Man, U.S Senator Crusade on Capitol Hill for Stem Cell Innovations appeared first on Stem Cell Banking Guide and Pregnancy Tips For New Parents.