Stem Cell Debate Takes New Twist on Howard Stern Show Stem Cell Transplant Recipient Sets the Record Straight

Stem Cell Recipient Enters Stem Cell Debate on Howard Stern Show

Dallas, TX August 16, 2004 -- For James Chippendale, the spin on stem cell research makes his blood boil. And this from a man with virtually no healthy blood cells in 2000. Stem cells saved my life, says Chippendale, President of CSI entertainment insurance and an advocate for stem cell research. Chippendale adds, I had an adult stem cell transplant known as a bone marrow transplant. Chippendale received this transplant after being diagnosed with Leukemia in 2000.

How did Chippendale land on the Howard Stern show? Chippendale explains, Howard Stern is an active supporter of removing stem cell funding restrictions. He let me add my personal story to the growing outcry that believes the current administration is letting religion and not science set policy (NOTE: Chippendales appearance on Howard Stern will be broadcast on the E! Entertainment channel on Monday, August 16th).

Fact is, 64% of Americans favor stem cell research. The current stem cell debate is over embryonic stem cells, not adult stem cells. Chippendale revealed that, Adult stem cells are limited in what they can do or become. Conversely, embryonic stem cells have shown that they can develop into almost any body organ or tissue, including the heart, liver, skin, bone, brain cells, nerves, etc.

The controversy: to develop embryonic stem cells you must take a stem cell from your body and fertilize an egg. The cells divide and then are extracted and cultivated to grow into these different organs. Extracting the cells destroys the embryo. This process is known as therapeutic cloning which is very different from human cloning.

Chippendale again explains, Fact is, human cloning is what scares people. The vast majority of physicians, researchers and scientists have backed legislation to ban any human cloning altogether. This science scares even the top doctors and medical researchers. These researchers believe that stem cells hold cures for ALS, Diabetes, MS, Paralysis, Burn victims, several forms of Cancer, Liver Disease and Alzheimers, a cause former first lady Nancy Reagan has been outspoken about in the past year.

The religious right considers the destruction of the embryo as if it were a human being. That theory is simply not true. These cells are in a dish, the egg was fertilized with a cell not sperm, and the embryo cannot become a human being.

James Chippendale is a Leukemia survivor and a beneficiary of an adult stem cell transplant. Chippendale champions the removal of government funding restrictions on stem cell research. For more information, go to: http://www.JamesChippendale.com and sign an online petition to support expanded stem cell research.

Contact Information:
James Chippendale   
214-533-1116

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