Costly fix: Sandy Alvaro is desperate for help to secure stem cell treatment.
ERIN PEARSON
GERMANY’S closure of a stem cell clinic has jeopardised a Geelong man’s bid to beat multiple sclerosis, he has told the Independent.
Sandy Alvaro, 39, said he desperately needed the controversial therapy after initial sessions in Sydney reduced his symptoms.
“I need to improve my quality of life and Germany is leading the research in stem cell treatment, so going there was my best option,” he said.
Mr Alvaro said his hopes faded when the German Government closed the Dusseldorf-based X-Cell Center following a change in European guidelines for stem cell treatments.
The centre’s website told patients their appointments were cancelled “until further notice”.
The centre had been operating under an administrator after filing for insolvency in May.
Mr Alvaro was diagnosed with MS in 1998. The condition attacks the central nervous system, causing severe nerve pain and fatigue.
Mr Alvaro, who has a three-year-old daughter, said he was shattered over the X-Cell closure.
Stem cell treatment has sparked international controversy for harvesting embryonic cells. But Mr Alvaro wants an alternative treatment drawing on stem cells in patients’ own bodies.
Many doctors believe stem cell treatment can regenerate tissue to treat conditions including MS, cerebral palsy, spinal injuries and arthritis.
Mr Alvaro previously had a stem cell procedure at a Sydney clinic that harvested cells from his fat but the German centre would have drawn them from his marrow.
He said he would have to return to Sydney instead of his preferred German clinic if Germany maintained its ban on X-Cell’s treatments.
The company’s website said X-Cell had treated thousands of patients.
“Since I had initial infusion in Sydney my energy levels have increased and my fatigue is almost gone,” Mr Alvaro said.
“I’ve got a young girl and I’ve been able to play with her and have come a lot closer to her now.”
Mr Alvaro said he needed two more sessions, costing around $18,000.
A fundraiser at The Pier on July 29 would seek to raise money for the treatments, he said.
