STAMFORD -- Justin Wexler, 12, a seventh-grader at Scofield Magnet Middle School, is asking Stamford residents to "be a super hero on Super Bowl Sunday" by registering to be a bone marrow donor.

Justin is hosting a donor drive at the Jewish Community Center, at 1035 Newfield Ave., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday for his mitzvah project, a contribution to the community before his bar mitzvah.

"Don't worry, there's plenty of time to do this early in the day and get back home in time to watch the game," said Justin, who will be rooting for the Giants on Sunday.

The donor drive will take about 6 minutes for each participant from start to finish, he explained, calmly spelling out the detailed process step-by-step as he sat at the head of his family's dining room table Tuesday afternoon, his bright blue eyes shining.

"You walk into the JCC, and first you'll come to a station and they'll tell you the eligibility requirements ¦ then you fill out a basic registration form and go off to the swabbing station," he said. Each donor will then take a swab from the inside of their left and right cheek and wrap their samples up with their information.

"That's it. It doesn't take long," he said. "But think about what could come from it."

Justin came up with the idea for a bone marrow drive around Thanksgiving, as he and his mother reflected on his father's experiences as a bone marrow donor for a woman in Long Island about two years ago. Justin's grandfather also donated bone marrow before Justin was born. The idea that his family members were able to save others' lives so easily stuck with him.

There are nearly 3 million potential donors registered with DKMS, the bone marrow donor center through which Justin will run his drive. But with a new diagnosis every four minutes, the donor reserves still aren't enough; 60 percent of bone cancer patients never receive the transplants they need.

"It's like finding a needle in a haystack," Justin said. His hope is that his drive will add 180 new names to that registry, and that someone will someday be a match for someone else in need. He chose the number 180 because it is a multiple of 18, a spiritual number in the Jewish faith that has strong ties to "life."

"It's mitzvah, and trying to give someone else a life, so we thought 180 would be a good goal," he said.

While Justin said he is hoping to sign up scores of potential donors, he stressed that people should not register if they're not absolutely certain they will be willing to go through with the transplant. He mentioned a boy around his age in Texas that he met around the holidays, who recently found a non-related donor for his second transplant after a transplant from his brother did not work as well as he and his doctors had anticipated.

"Imagine if they found him a match and then they said no," Justin said.

There are two ways to donate if a match is found. About 80 percent of the time, a donor's blood is removed from one arm with a needle, blood stem cells are filtered out and the remaining blood is pumped back into the other arm. In the other method, marrow cells are collected from a donor using a special syringe.

The first option can often take two days, while the second takes about one or two hours in outpatient surgery. While flu-like side effects can occur for about 48 hours after the first option, donors usually experience some pain, bruising and stiffness for up to two weeks after the second option, according to DKMS.

"I think most people when they find out someone has cancer, they feel helpless, but this could be an opportunity to save someone's life," said Justin's mother, Robin Wexler.

Justin's not old enough to swab his own cheeks for the cause -- donors have to be between the ages of 18 and 55 -- but he said he is glad to be helping by spreading the word.

"Maybe someone will show up on Sunday, someone who's never even thought about doing this before, and maybe that person will be a match; maybe they'll save a life," he said. "Imagine that."

Staff writer Maggie Gordon can be reached at maggie.gordon@scni.com or 203-964-2229.

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Stamford boy hosting bone marrow donor drive Sunday

31-01-2012 20:35 http://www.singularityweblog.com This morning I interviewed Daniel Kraft for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Dr. Kraft at Singularity University where he is the Medicine and Neuroscience Chair and executive director of the FutureMed Program. Daniel is one of those people with an incredibly diverse spectrum of talents and interests for he is not only a medical doctor and oncologist but also an inventor, a technology and space enthusiast, an entrepreneur and an F-16 flight surgeon. During our conversation we discuss a variety of topics such as: Daniel's early interest and talent in technology and science; his original fascination with the Apollo Space program and eventual participation in International Space University; his passion for flying and being a pilot; his medical education and personal journey to becoming a faculty member at Singularity University; his desire to be an instigator, connector and motivator of innovation; the story behind as well as the purpose and structure of the FutureMed program; bone marrow harvesting, regenerative medicine and stem cell research; longevity and the future of medicine and health care; his greatest inspiration and concerns about the field of medicine and his belief that one doesn't have to be a doctor to improve health care.

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Daniel Kraft on Singularity 1 on 1 (part 3) - Video

24-01-2012 18:39 Four minute excerpt from the Spotlight on Genomics seminar presentation during the January 17th 2012 California Institute for Regnerative Medicine governing board meeting. The video features a conversation between Catriona Jamieson, director for stem cell research at UCSD Moores Cancer Center, and one of her patients who is participating in a clinical trial for the treatment of myelofibrosis, a life-threatening blood disorder.

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Clinical Trial for Myelofibrosis that Targets Cancer Stem Cells | CIRM Spotlight on Genomics - Video

31-01-2012 19:41 http://www.singularityweblog.com This morning I interviewed Daniel Kraft for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Dr. Kraft at Singularity University where he is the Medicine and Neuroscience Chair and executive director of the FutureMed Program. Daniel is one of those people with an incredibly diverse spectrum of talents and interests for he is not only a medical doctor and oncologist but also an inventor, a technology and space enthusiast, an entrepreneur and an F-16 flight surgeon. During our conversation we discuss a variety of topics such as: Daniel's early interest and talent in technology and science; his original fascination with the Apollo Space program and eventual participation in International Space University; his passion for flying and being a pilot; his medical education and personal journey to becoming a faculty member at Singularity University; his desire to be an instigator, connector and motivator of innovation; the story behind as well as the purpose and structure of the FutureMed program; bone marrow harvesting, regenerative medicine and stem cell research; longevity and the future of medicine and health care; his greatest inspiration and concerns about the field of medicine and his belief that one doesn't have to be a doctor to improve health care.

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Daniel Kraft on Singularity 1 on 1 (part 2) - Video

Sangeeta Bhatia, MIT professor of health sciences and technology and electrical engineering and computer science

Researchers at MIT and their colleagues said they have devised a way to produce liver-like cells from stem cells, a key step in studying why people respond differently to Hepatitis C.andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;
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An infectious disease that can cause inflammation and organ failure, Hepatitis C has different effects on different people, but no one is sure why, the researchers said in a press release from MIT. Some people are very susceptible to the infection, while others are resistant.

The researchers said that by studying liver cells from different people in the lab, they may determine how genetic differences produce these varying responses. However, liver cells are hard to get and very difficult to grow in a lab dish because they tend to lose their normal structure and function when removed from the body.

The researchers, from MIT, Rockefeller University and the Medical College of Wisconsin, have come up with a way to produce liver-like cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are made from body tissues rather than embryos. Those liver-like cells can then be infected with Hepatitis C and help scientists study the varying responses to the infection.

The scientists claim this is the first time an infection has been made in cells derived from iPSCs. Their new technique is described in the Jan. 30 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The development, they said, may also eventually enable personalized medicine, in which doctors could test the effect of different drugs on tissues derived from the patient being treated and then customize therapy for that patient.

The new study is a collaboration between Sangeeta Bhatia, professor of health sciences and technology and electrical engineering and computer science at MIT; Charles Rice, professor of virology at Rockefeller; and Stephen Duncan, professor of human and molecular genetics at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

The iPSCs are derived from normal body cells, often skin cells. By turning on certain genes in those cells, the scientists can revert them to an immature state that is identical to embryonic stem cells, which can turn into any cell type. Once the cells become pluripotent, they can be directed to become liver-like cells by turning on genes that control liver development.

The researchers’ goal is to take cells from patients who have unusual reactions to hepatitis C infection, transform them into liver cells and study their genetics to see why people respond as they do. “Hepatitis C virus causes an unusually robust infection in some people, while others are very good at clearing it. It’s not yet known why those differences exist,” Bhatia said in a statement.

Bhatia is a 2009 Mass High Tech Women to Watch honoree.
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Stem cells may shed light on hepatitis, MIT researchers find

03-01-2012 20:39 perfectmyskin.com - We often hear this "Build your own dreams before someone else HIRES you to build their dreams!". "Jeunesse", is once again in the forefront of this exploration for youth-enhancing solutions.

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Luminesce Stem Cell Skin Care - Rediscover Your Skin | Rediscover Yourself! - Video

19-12-2011 14:50 Katie Sharify, 23, of Pleasanton, receives stem cells for a spinal cord injury.

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Stem cell therapy at VMC - Video

26-10-2011 11:37 Apple Stem Cell break through technology that offers hopes for damaged skin.

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Apple Stem Cell - Video

09-11-2011 14:00 Olga Momcilovic speaks at the 2011 CIRM Grantee Meeting about the use of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to better understand the causes of Parkinson's and to develop therapies. Momcilovic is a CIRM Scholar and postdoctoral research fellow at the Buck Institute located in Novato, California.

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Parkinson's Disease: Advancing Stem Cell Therapies - 2011 CIRM Grantee Meeting - Video

31-03-2011 09:39

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Bone marrow / Stem cell transplant - in isolation baby Yasmina tells a story. - Video

17-10-2011 14:27 This video, is a testimonial of a patient California that went to Progencell, for a Stem cell treatment for his ALS.

Link:
ALS - Stem Cell therapy (English) - Video

26-09-2011 18:57 Lean back and learn in just 3 minutes all benefits of our unique biological health care measure. (We) Back-up Your Life! TICEBA is the first private tissue bank worldwide to obtain stem cells from the skin, assess their quality and preserve them.

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TICEBA presents - Back-up Your Life! - Video

18-11-2011 14:29 Dr Tony Talebi discusses stem cell transplantation in Myeloma with Dr Ratzan. For further discussion visit http://www.HemOnc101.com.

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Dr Tony Talebi discusses stem cell transplantation in Myeloma with Dr Ratzan - Video

Our family's trip to Costa Rica (Feb 2009) for stem cell therapy for our autistic son. Includes Phoenix airport, Houston airport and hotel, San Jose airport and hotel (The Apartotel Cristina), The Institute for Cellular Medicine (Drs

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Autism Stem Cell Trip - Video

Rudolf Jaenisch, MD (MIT) and recently named winner of the National Medal of Science, discussed the key issues facing the field of highly pluripotent stem cells including ES cells and iPS cells.

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2011 Summit: Stem Cells, Reprogramming and Personalized Medicine, Rudolf Jaenisch, MD - Video

Andy Grove, PhD and Former CEO of Intel Corporation, dared to suggest that translational medicine will be a "bridge to nowhere" if the way we handle the development of new drugs does not undergo a serious transformation. He proposed a radical rethinking of our whole regulatory and IP system, encouraging all members of the stem cell community to stimulate action and push for change.

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2011 Summit: Translational Medicine: Key to Progress or Bridge to Nowhere?, Andrew S. Grove, PhD - Video

Post Stem Cell Therapy Testimony of Cerebral Palsy Stem cell therapy done at neurogen brain and spine institute pvt ltd. Tell: +91 9920 200 400 , 022 25281610 , 022 25283706

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Stem Cell Therapy for Cerebral Palsy, Mumbai - Video

Ian Wilmut discusses stem cell and direct cellular transformation therapy at the 2011 Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa at the Salk Institute, Nov.

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Ian Wilmut discusses stem cell and direct cellular transformation therapy - Video

Huntington's disease is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder that typically strikes in a person's thirties and leads to death about 10 to 15 years later. No effective therapy exists for the disease. Jan Nolta, director of the UC Davis Stem Cell Program and Institute for Regenerative Cures, has a CIRM Early Translational Award to develop stem cell-based therapies for Huntington's disease.

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Stem Cell Research: Huntington's Disease - Video

Riot's palpation examination showing major improvement just two weeks after the Adipose Stem Cell Therapy he received at University Animal Hospital in Greensboro, NC.

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Riot's Lameness Palpation Exam - 2 weeks post Adipose Stem Cell Therapy - Video