Right off the bat, Dr. Ed Santos, oncologist and surgeon who trained in stem cell therapy in Belgium and has been a medical doctor for 30 years, will tell you how old he is. "I'm 60."
Well can he afford to brag, because his skin is clear, rosy and bright, while the rest of him shows a body that is just about to ripen for middle age. In his brand-new StemGenics Center for Age Management and Regenerative Medicine on Eisenhower St. in Greenhills, San Juan, the doctor proudly gives the visitor a tour of the clinic's gleaming equipment and facilities, all because its principal investor, Sunder Hemandas, believes that "SCT is the future of medicine." There's another reason for the pride in the doctor's voice. Unlike some fly-by-night "clinics" operating out of hotel rooms, StemGenics is endorsed by the Department of Health.
The following are excerpts of a conversation with Dr. Santos.
When does someone need stem cell therapy?
There is an increasing demand for the use of stem cells as therapy in oncology, end-organ diseases and regenerative medicine, as well as aesthetic applications. Despite the heightened interest, SCT is not a cure-all treatment. It should be considered when standard of care modalities fail or are inadequate.
Which type of procedure should a patient choose?
There are stem cell types that have been proven to cause complications such as kidney failure, or even death. Embryonic stem cells have been associated with tumor formation. SCT preparations that are permitted (by DOH) for patient use are autologous (your own) adult human stem cells, allogeneic (from another person) human stem cells, human umbilical cord stem cells and human organ-specific cells. DOH does not allow SCT from embryonic, aborted fetal, and genetically altered animal and plant stem cells.
How is your (StemGenics) procedure different?
I work primarily with autologous (from the patient) uncultured fat-derived stromal vascular tradition and its stem cells, where tissue harvest, minimal manipulation techniques, stem cell activation, and delivery are done in a single procedure. The process is completed as an outpatient procedure within a four-to-six-hour time frame.
Using fat as a source of stem cells allows for the treatment to be a single step procedure, as fat is very rich in stem cells. . .In other techniques, harvested tissue such as bone marrow or blood needs to spend time in the lab for expansion, so that it can reach the required number of stem cells needed. Our Belgian technology has been shown to provide about 200 percent more stem cells.
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Belgian technique uses fat cells