For more than 15 years, Doctor Eric Bouhassira and his team have been researching stem cells at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.They say their mission is to use stem cells to create new red blood cells.

According to Dr. Bouhassira, the red blood cells could help many. He says it could help someone with sickle cell disease, who sometimes need a very rare blood type, which could be replaced in this way.

One way they are spreading the message is through Stem Cell Awareness Day. They are aiming to educate the public by hosting the event on Wednesday.

Jo Wiederhorn is the president and CEO of the Associated Medical Schools of New York and is advocating for research. The Associated Medical Schools of New York is a non-profit that represents all of the state medical schools.

The work being done in labs across the state involving stem cells in hopes of treating and curing conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and various forms of cancer.

However, researchers say they need a lot of funding because the research is very expensive. They say the federal government no longer supports stem cell research.

Researchers say anything that has advanced the work they have been doing for the past 10 years has come from the state.

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Researchers to educate the public with Stem Cell Awareness Day - News 12 Bronx