New Law Opens Door for Stem Cell Therapy in Texas – Spectrum News

AUSTIN, Texas -- The legal battle to get patients access to stem cell therapy in Texas is closer to reality.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed such legislation into law this week, and itmeans some patients will be heading into uncharted medical territory.

Come Sept. 1, patients with terminal illnesses or severe chronic diseases will be allowed to access experimental stem cell treatments in Texas.

MORE |Governor Signs Law to Allow Chronic, Terminally Ill in Texas to Get Stem Cell Treatments

Currently, mostpatients who want stem cell therapy have to travel outside the United States to do it, and stem cell re-injections are only allowed here within a 24-hour window.

"This is going to protect patient health, and provide for the treatments to be done here locally at home," saidMike Byrom, the Chief Science Officer at Austin stem cell bankBioEden.

Byrom said the new lawwill keep patients in the country, and will provide renewed hope for those with serious ailments.

This hope resulted in anemotional fight this session.

Texas State Rep. Drew Springer, R-Gainesville, gave an impassioned speech for the legislation as the deadline to read new bills approached, urging lawmakers to keep it from dying.

"I'll be damned if we don't get the chance tonight to hear the very next bill that opens up the doors of medical science," saidSpringer, whose wife is wheelchair-bound."It might give somebody like my wife a chance to walk."

But not everyone's convinced this is the right way to go.

"We want access for patients to the best drugs, but we think they ought to go through the FDA approval process," saidTexans for Cures Chairman David Bales.

Bales was one of the few people who testified against the bill. While he supports more stem cell research,hearguesthe state should fund it, rather than letting for-profit businesses lead the way.

"You run the risk of medical fraud because a lot of these guys, a lot of these patients, are paying a lot of money, to physicians and drug manufacturers who haven't gone through the right process,"Balessaid.

Patients who will be participating in stem cell therapy procedures will give up their right to take legal action if something goes wrong.

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New Law Opens Door for Stem Cell Therapy in Texas - Spectrum News