'It sounds really hopeful'

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January 9, 2007

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Tue Jan 09, 2007, 12:49 AM CST

By Andy Ostmeyer

aostmeyer@joplinglobe.com

People who found themselves on opposite sides of one of the most controversial ballot issues in Missouri in recent years praised the announcement over the weekend of a possible alternative to the use of embryonic stem cells.

Keith Martin, of Joplin, and Dawn Barlett, of Webb City, have looked carefully at the issues involving stem-cell use — Barlett for her daughter and Martin for his late wife.

Yet, they reached different conclusions during the debate on Amendment 2, with Martin among the 49 percent who voted against it in November and Barlett joining the 51 percent in favor of it. But on Monday, both welcomed the news that stem cells taken from amniotic fluid may hold the same promise as embryonic stem cells, avoiding many of the ethical, moral and religious issues.

“It sounds really hopeful,” said Martin, whose wife, Amy, used her own stem cells and later stem cells from a donor after she was diagnosed with leukemia. Amy Martin died in 2005. Martin said his wife never would have considered the use of embryonic stem cells because she believed that would have violated the sanctity of human life.

Martin said everything he has heard about amniotic stem cells leads him to believe that the technique might make a better alternative.

“It’s not a moral question. There are no ethical questions,” he said.

Barlett’s daughter, Rylea, 5, suffers from optic nerve hypoplasia — a condition she was born with — and was one of the cases promoted by advocates of Amendment 2 in the fall.

Barlett said she plans to travel to China with Rylea for transplants of umbilical stem cells. Each injection, Barlett said, has 10 million stem cells in it.

“She sees nothing,” Barlett said of her daughter. “She is completely blind. No light perception. Nothing.”

Even Rylea’s pediatric ophthalmologists have said there is little they can do for her in this country. Barlett said China and other countries in Asia do not have many of the same regulations. Barlett said there are no guarantees that the procedure will work. She said Rylea will be the first person in the world who is completely blinded by optic nerve hypoplasia and who will receive this type of stem-cell treatment.

The Barletts were active in the campaign of the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, which promoted Amendment 2. They wanted to put Rylea’s face on the issue, Barlett said, so voters had a better understanding of the issue.

On Sunday, researchers from Wake Forest University and Harvard University reported that amniotic fluid donated by pregnant women may hold the same promise as embryonic stem cells, but without harming the mother or the fetus. The stem cells from amniotic fluid would be turned into several different types of tissue, including brain, bone and nerve tissue. The scientists said preliminary tests on patients for amniotic stem-cell therapies could be years away.

Patients such as Rylea are receiving the benefits of earlier work with umbilical and adult stem cells, but the treatments are expensive. Barlett estimates that the three trips that may be necessary to China, beginning in July, could cost as much as $150,000 to $200,000 overall. The family, which does not have insurance, has begun raising money to help with the costs.

Barlett said she is in favor of any research involving any stem cells, because, “When you have no hope, you are looking at all the possibilities.”

Connie Farrow, spokeswoman for the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, advocated going forward with embryonic stem-cell research as well as amniotic stem-cell work.

“We can’t predict what type of stem-cell research will ultimately lead to a cure,” Farrow said, and all options should be open to scientists and those who suffer from diseases that might be cured by stem cells.

“That was the point of the stem-cell initiative,” she said.

Amendment 2 guarantees that all federally allowed stem-cell research can take place in Missouri, including that on human embryos.

“It’s a wonderful development, and I don’t think it’s the end,” Patty Skain, executive director of Missouri Right to Life, said of the weekend announcement. “I think there are even more things to be discovered.”

Skain said she was not only happy with the announcement, but also with the fact that it was being widely disseminated through the media. Her organization has argued all along that there are alternatives to embryonic stem-cell research that hold the same potential but don’t result in the destruction of what she and other opponents consider a human life.

“What is encouraging is the fact that it is being reported,” Skain said.

Andy Ostmeyer is the metro editor for The Joplin Globe.

On the Net

To learn more about Rylea Barlett’s disease and future fund-raisers to help her, visit www.nomoredarkness.com.