Distrust Exists, but Trust Is Better: When Patients and Physicians Discuss Stem Cells

Where the Rubber Meets the Road:  Cellular Transplantation in Human Spinal Cord Injury.

Brian K. Kwon, MD, PhD, FRCSC

Cellular transplantation treatments have been tested extensively for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI) in the laboratory setting, and more recently, in human patients.   The excitement and hope for this technology in SCI is unparalleled.  In this lecture we will provide a broad overview of the cell transplantation field in SCI, and review our past and current experience with both ‘regulated’ and ‘unregulated’ cell transplantation trials.   This will lead to a discussion of the perspectives of the SCI community on how such novel therapies proceed ‘from bench to bedside’.