Watch:An Alberta mom of twins battling leukemia is one step closer to getting her stem cell transplant. Su-Ling Goh has the update. EDMONTON After five months in hospital for the most part, separated from her kids Tammy McLash finally spent a few days at home and is now in Calgary for her stem cell transplant. The Edmonton mother was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in August, and has since undergone four rounds of chemotherapy while waiting for a matching stem cell donor. She has only been able to see her three-year-old twins, Adam and Madeline, for about 30 minutes a day, at most. Tammy was in isolation for much of December, missing both Christmas and the twins third birthday. READ MORE: Alberta mother battling leukemia desperately searching for stem cell match But she was finally strong enough to come home last week. Thats when the family celebrated both occasions. We chose one day to be their birthday and that was their birthday celebration and then this morning was Christmas, says Mathew McLash, Tammys husband. They woke up with us, opened some presents and we had our Christmas, so it was really nice. They now think that every time they get … Continue reading →

Stem cell technology representsone of the most fascinating and controversial medical advances of the past several decades. By now the enormous controversy which surrounded the use of federal funds to conduct scientific research on human stem cells during the George W. Bush administration has largely blown over. Five years have passed since President Obama lifted federal funding restrictions, and amazing progress has already been made in the field. One can make a good case for stem cells being the most fascinating and versatile cells in the human body. This is precisely due to their stem role. In their most basic form, theyre capable of both replicating themselves an unlimited number of times and differentiating themselvesinto a huge number of other cell types. Muscle cells, brain cells, organ cells, and many others can all be created from stem cells. If youre interested, the NIH has an awesome introductionon stem cells on their website. The question which has arisen since the discovery of thisamazing cell type has been how to harness their power and versatility. This is the primary focus of research today: how can we precisely control stem cells to perform whatever tasks we need them to do? Of course, other … Continue reading →

Proud new dad Jason Manford has shared his baby joy over the weekend after welcoming his fifth child into the world. But the birth has also given the comic and his girlfriend Lucy the opportunity to save a life. The couple decided to take the unusual step of donating the umbilical cord and placenta to the Anthony Nolan Trust after meeting its team at St Marys Hospital. The charity helps people with blood cancers matching them with donors if they need a stem cell, bone marrow or cord blood transplant. It runs an umbilical cord and placenta collection programme in eight hospitals across the country, including St Marys. Specialists collect the umbilical cord and placenta from donors after the birth and, instead of throwing them away, extract blood from them. Stem cells in cord blood are adaptable which makes finding matches for donors easier and, as they are stored in a bank, they are available straight away. Its a fantastic scheme and Jason has done a great service by raising awareness of it. Wed encourage any expecting parents to follow in his footsteps and find out more. To find out more, go to their website. VIEW GALLERY Read the original … Continue reading →