THE GLOBE
PO BOX 5079 (51102)
1825 JACKSON ST.
SIOUX CITY, IA (51105)
712.255.2550
800.352.9035
WWW.CATHOLICGLOBE.ORG

Adult stem-cell hope for dialysis patients

By Father Dennis Meinen
View from the scooter

Do you know someone who is on dialysis? I know several (I call them “My heroes.”). I’ve often wondered if adult stem cells will someday help them and transform their lives. Now I read where Monash University, Victoria 3800 Australia (Tel: +61 3 9902 6000 Fax: +61 3 9905 4007) says that the development of adult stem cell therapies in combination with newly discovered repair factors may offer alternatives for renal transplantation and long-term dialysis.  If you have read much about Adult Stem Cells you know that the potential of stem cells represents one of the greatest opportunities in medicine. They are found in embryonic tissues and adult organs and have potential uses in therapies designed to repair and regenerate organs. Importantly, cell therapy using bone marrow stem cells for patients with blood abnormalities has been used since the first successful bone marrow transplant in 1968.

Now 40 years on, the great hope is that cell-based therapies may be used to replace dead or damaged tissue in patients with a variety of diseases. Back to those on dialysis. Kidneys are formed from stem cells during embryonic development. The study of growth factors essential in normal kidney development allows for the advancement of novel therapies to promote kidney growth and repair. Growing evidence suggests that the reinitiation of genes that control the formation of the kidney may also assist with regeneration of damaged kidney cells in adults.

Monash University goes on, “We are interested in the control of kidney ‘self-repair' and the bone marrow-derived cells that drive this process. These cells may therefore provide an important link between the production of cells produced from the bone marrow and the regeneration of kidney cells following damage. Understanding the growth factors and mechanisms that are important during kidney development may provide avenues for the development of new regenerative therapies for adult-onset kidney disease.”
I thought of what I would want to say in a prayer for those “frequent travelers” to dialysis centers.

Prayer for Those who are on dialysis
Bless, O God,
all who fight the good fight
as they leave home several times each week
to clean from the blood what the kidney’s no longer do.
Empower them with hope
for each and every day.
Provide them with loving
and tender care, laughter,
and the support of those who love them.
Grant them
courage when they are afraid,
comfort when they are in pain,
and Your blessing
when veins in the arms, legs, neck or abdomen
no longer send un-cleaned blood to the dialyzer (An artificial kidney machine).

Lord you have created those who now have end stage renal disease
to be Jesus to those who have not heard or know You.
Help them to do something few can do.
Convince everyone the Lord loves them and walks with them,
especially those who feel life is hopeless.

Let them show others how they can carry their crosses,
something they have learned to do, oh, so well
Amen.
Rev. Dennis W. Meinen