How
California became the center of the stem cell universe - and why that
matters to you!
When Don Reed's son Roman became paralyzed in a college football accident, a father-son quest for cure began. The Reeds helped pass laws to raise money for research and to protect scientists' freedom to work with stem cells, including the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999. Then came Proposition 71: Bob Klein's $3 billion initiative. The Stem Cells for Research and Cures Act was an uphill battle -- but California prevailed.
Palo
Alto, CA, USA (November 28, 2015) -- In 2003, during a state-wide
recession, a small group of patient advocates fought for three
billion dollars of stem cell research funding-and won. Award-winning
author Don C. Reed's new book, "STEM CELL BATTLES:
Proposition 71 and Beyond" tells the up-close and personal
story of the California stem cell agency, and the breakthroughs that
came from it: challenges to cancer, AIDS, blindness, heart disease
and more, conditions devastating our families, and the economy. One
in three Americans suffers an "incurable" disease. Last
year, chronic disease cost America $2.3 trillion dollars-more than
all federal income taxes combined.
 |
| Cover of "Stem Cell Battles: Proposition 71 and Beyond" Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger shakes hands with Roman Reed in support of the California stem cell program, accompanied by Bob Klein who began Prop 71 and Don Reed who wrote about it. |
When Don Reed's son Roman became paralyzed in a college football accident, a father-son quest for cure began. The Reeds helped pass laws to raise money for research and to protect scientists' freedom to work with stem cells, including the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999. Then came Proposition 71: Bob Klein's $3 billion initiative. The Stem Cells for Research and Cures Act was an uphill battle -- but California prevailed.
And
when the program actually began? Some predicted not even one therapy
would make it all the way to human trials. Today, 28 stem
cell-derived therapies are in various stages of human clinical
trials, including: Diabetes: a credit card-sized device which may
replace the insulin cells from a diabetic's non-functioning pancreas;
Paralysis: an injection of stem cells to reduce the wound and save
function; Cancer: a way to help the body's own immune system fight
back; Blindness: rebuilding the retina in the most common form of
vision loss-and much more.
"...warm,
optimistic, determined...Stem Cell Battles is a prime example of how
a small group of people can bring about significant change for
many...valuable for that reason alone, but the human stories Reed
includes make it more so." - J.G. Stinson, FOREWORD
Reviews (5 hearts)
See
author Don C. Reed on the spot: given one minute to sum up stem cell
research!
https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-progress/video/don-reed-why-we-need-new-stem-cell-therapies-and-how-you-can-help
Reed
has won numerous awards: Teacher of the Year, the U.S. House of
Representatives Community Service Award, the Educational Press
Association of America Award, more.
"STEM
CELL BATTLES: Proposition 71 and Beyond: How Ordinary People Can
Fight Back Against the Crushing Burden of Chronic Disease-with a
Posthumous Foreword by Christopher Reeve". World Scientific
Publishing, Inc., 432 pages, color illustrations, for a general
readership. Pub date December 16th. Hardcover, softbound and e-book
formats.
Available
at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Stem-Cell-Battles-Proposition-Christopher/dp/9814618276
Contact:
Don
C. Reed
650-812-1011
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