Kansas Stem Cell Program Sued

A group of patients has sued a Kansas City stem cell transplant program alleging that it used shortcut methods to prepare the cells, resulting in the deaths of one-fourth of 40 patients treated between 1998 and 1999. Those patients died within 100 days of the treatments from complications including hemorrhages, infections and the return of their cancer. In two years, half of the patients died -- a much higher death rate than other centers.

The suits were filed by former patients and deceased patients' survivors in Jackson County Circuit Court against St. Luke's Hospital, the Community Blood Center, the Kansas City Cancer Center and other institutions.

Many of the patients who sued learned of the problems only years later, after a St. Luke's lab technician who also was a patient found out about an outside expert's confidential report and spread the word, the Star reported.

Jay Menitove, director of the Community Blood Center, declined to comment on the lawsuits. The blood center is no longer associated with the transplant program.

It's important to note that the stem cell therapy discussed here is different from the stem cell research that has dominated the news in recent years. Stem cell transplantation (such as bone marrow transplant) to treat leukemia and other blood diseases has been used for decades. It's different from embryonic and other stem cell research in which scientists are trying to transform stem cells into heart, pancreatic, liver and other types of cells to treat a wide variety of diseases.

But I won't be surprised if opponents use the news inappropriately to tarnish the field of embryonic stem cell research.