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Kansas Coalition
for Lifesaving Cures
PO Box 394
Topeka KS 66601-0394

Toll-free: 800-821-2658
Email: info@kansascures.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 9, 2005

Coalition Formed to Protect Stem Cell Research and Cures in Kansas

Statewide coalition also launches website providing information on its effort to protect lifesaving medical research for Kansas patients

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Lawrence, KS – A coalition of patient advocacy groups, medical experts and concerned citizens today launched an effort to ensure that Kansas patients will have access to any future stem cell cures that are allowed by federal law and available to other Americans. The group, called the Kansas Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, includes dozens of medical and patient organizations and hundreds of concerned citizens throughout the state.

Notable organizational members include the American Diabetes Association, Christopher Reeve Foundation, Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (which represents more than 90 patient advocacy, disease and research organizations), Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Parkinson's Action Network and Stowers Institute for Medical Research.

The new coalition formed in response to attempts some Kansas politicians have made to pass state legislation that would ban and criminalize certain types of stem cell research and cures in Kansas. That legislation would ban stem cell research involving Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) at Kansas medical institutions and prohibit Kansas patients from having their diseases and injuries treated with any future SCNT stem cell cures that are approved as a medical treatment in the U.S.

SCNT provides a way to use a patient's own cell and a donated, unfertilized egg to produce stem cells, which can turn into any type of cell in the human body and match the patient's genetic makeup, thus avoiding the problem of immune system rejection. Medical researchers believe that SCNT stem cells could provide cures for many currently incurable or common diseases, such as diabetes, Parkinson's, MS, cancer, heart disease, ALS, sickle cell disease and spinal cord injury.

"Members of our Coalition agree that any stem cell research and cures that are allowed by federal law should be allowed in Kansas, as long as such activities are conducted ethically and safely and do not involve human reproductive cloning or any attempt to clone a human being," said Lori Hutfles, Executive Director of the Kansas Coalition for Lifesaving Cures. "We will strongly oppose state-level bans on any type of stem cell research and cures allowed under federal law. Kansas patients deserve the right to have access to any stem cell therapies and cures that are allowed in the U.S. and available to patients in other states, and Kansas medical institutions should be able to provide and help find those cures."

More than 50 years of research on adult stem cells has produced such treatments as bone marrow transplants for leukemia patients. Now, the new frontier in stem cell research involves early, or embryonic, stem cells (ES cells). Unlike adult stem cells, ES cells have the potential to turn into and regenerate any type of cell or tissue in the human body. As a result, ES cells could provide cures for more than 70 devastating diseases and injuries that afflict hundreds of thousands of children and adults in Kansas and millions of other Americans. There are two basic sources of ES cells. One is SCNT. The other is leftover fertility clinic embryos that would otherwise be discarded.

"Stem cell research holds great promise for the nearly 21 million Americans who have diabetes," said Bruce Barrett, State Advocacy Leader of the American Diabetes Association. "Stem cell research could lead not only to a cure for diabetes, but to better treatment as well. The American Diabetes Association is a proud member of the Kansas Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, and we will continue to oppose any measure that will stand in the way of progress of potentially lifesaving research."

"We are members of the Kansas Coalition for Lifesaving Cures because we believe patients should have access to future therapies and cures that improve and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Kansas – and provide a model that may be needed in any other states where politicians try to impose state-level bans on stem cell treatments that are permitted under federal law," said Michael Manganiello, Senior Vice President for Government Relations at the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

"Stem cell research holds the potential for treating some of our most devastating diseases including juvenile (type 1) diabetes," said Peter Van Etten, President and CEO of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. "A few politicians should not stand in the way of lifesaving stem cell research and cures for Kansans that are developed in the future and are available in other states."

"Early stem cell research may one day lead to cures for neurological disorders afflicting our children," said Fia Richmond, President and Founder of the Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation. "For this reason, we are happy to be working with the Kansas Coalition for Lifesaving Cures. We must make sure we keep hope alive for our children who are depending on us to protect their right to have access to medical treatments in the future."

"We are in agreement with the Kansas Coalition for Lifesaving Cures that any stem cell research, therapies or cures that are permitted by federal law should be allowed in Kansas," said George Dahlman, Vice President of Public Policy at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. "Stem cell research could provide cures for many of the most devastating diseases including cancers like leukemia and lymphoma."

"The Alliance for Aging Research is proud to be a member of the Kansas Coalition for Lifesaving Cures because we believe Kansas medical researchers and institutions must be allowed to pursue early stem cell research," said Executive Director Dan Perry. "This important research could lead to the development of treatments or cures for numerous age-related diseases and disabilities. We must ensure aging Kansans have access to quality medical treatments in the years to come."

"We are honored to have these and dozens of other leading medical and patient groups join with Kansas citizens as members of our Coalition," said Hutfles. "We encourage concerned Kansas residents and organizations to join with us in supporting lifesaving stem cell research and cures. Supporters can join online and get more information by visiting our website at www.KansasCures.com or calling us toll-free at 800-821-2658."