5 doctors charged with falsifying papers to get certificate for stem cell group

PRC: Stem cell group submitted fake SEC registration. At a press conference in Manila on Monday, March 17, Professional Regulation Commission chairperson Teresita Manzala said the PRC endorsement documents allegedly submitted by the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were fabricated and have her tampered signature. The SEC previously revoked the corporate registration of the PSSCM. Danny Pata

In a statement, Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) chair Teresita Manzala said she has asked the Professional Regulatory Board of Medicine (PRBOM) to initiate, investigate and file charges against doctors Leo Olarte, Bu Castro, Rey Melchor Santos, Oscar Tinio and Jose Asa Sabili before the PRCs legal division.

Olarte is the current president of the PMA.

The five doctors are all incorporators of the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM,) which was able to obtain an SEC certificate despite previously being denied corporate registration. They were able to do this, said the statement, by submitting false PRC endorsements to the commission.

The PRBOM eventually got hold of a copy of the SEC Registration. On examination of the supposed PRC Endorsement, it was noted that the reference regulatory law used was the Philippine Veterinary Law of 2004, instead of Republic Act 2382, otherwise known as the Medical Act of 1959, and there appeared a signature of the PRC Chairperson, the PRC statement said.

Manzala said complaints were filed against the doctors for unprofessional, dishonorable and unethical conduct.

According to the statement, the incorporators later denied participation in obtaining the SEC registration, instead naming a Dr. Mike Aragon as the person who obtained the certification.

In a notarized affidavit submitted to the PRBOM, 'Dr. Mike Aragon' declared that he was the person authorized to register a corporation to be called 'Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine' and admitted paying 15,000 pesos to a trading company for them to file the necessary documents for incorporation of the PSSCM, the PRC statement said.

But Aragon claimed to have had no participation whatsoever in the actual processing of the SEC papers for incorporating the PSSCM. Patricia Denise Chiu/BM, GMA News

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5 doctors charged with falsifying papers to get certificate for stem cell group

The pros and cons of banking your baby's stem cells

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Umbilical cord stem cell banking can be expensive and controversial, but Jamie and Ben Page decided to bank their daughter Harlow's stem cells, just in case. Then, "just in case" became a reality.

She spins, kicks, and giggles. Like most five year olds, Harlow Page is full of energy.

"This is Harlow when she was first born. We had heard about cord blood banking and talked about it a lot and thought let's just go for it and have it just as a backup," said Jamie Page, Harlow's mom.

It turns out they did need it. Harlow had cancer in her uterus.

"On the ultrasound they immediately saw that there was a mass in her abdomen about the size of a grapefruit," Jamie said.

After a year of chemo, the tumor was gone. Doctors wanted to keep it that way.

"So, when the doctors found out we actually had her own stem cells they were very excited," Jamie said.

"I think that her umbilical cord cells were used as a boost to her own cells when we harvested her to have adequate cells for reconstitution," said Elaine Morgan, MD, Oncologist, Lurie Children's Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Morgan does not advocate private cord stem cell banking at birth to be saved for a healthy baby's later use, because it's not clinically useful and it's expensive.

The Pages paid almost $2,000 for the initial banking fee, plus an extra $125 per year.

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The pros and cons of banking your baby's stem cells

Stem cell transplant helps boy grow past rare disease

By Amber South

asouth@publicopinionnews.com @AESouthPO on Twitter

MERCERSBURG >> Two years after a stem cell transplant, Chevy Hockenberry is growing in mind and body toward the 4-year-old that he is.

He has started a preschool program, and is improving his speech and getting physically stronger.

"He's just very much like a normal boy now," said his mom, Melissa Johnson, of Mercersburg. He is the son of Lance Hockenberry, Fayetteville.

But Chevy continues to wear hearing aids and glasses, and still has some physical issues with his bones to contend with as he continues his journey living with Hurlers syndrome.

Public Opinion last talked to Johnson in March 2012, about a week before the stem cell transplant surgery to prevent the disease from gaining more ground inside Chevy's little body.

Doctors diagnosed Chevy with Hurlers syndrome in January 2012. The rare, inherited disease prevents the body from producing an enzyme that helps break down and process long chains of sugar molecules, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center's website. Without the enzyme, the sugar molecules can build up and damage organs.

Chevy stayed at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for six months after his surgery. The results of the surgery were not immediately great.

"He got really sick after the transplant," Johnson said.

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Stem cell transplant helps boy grow past rare disease

Ottawa mans stem-cell transplant set-back

Ottawa-native, Chris Taylor, is riding an emotional roller coaster.

Taylor was first diagnosed with Leukemia 2 years ago. Chemotherapy worked but the cancer soon returned. Without a stem-cell transplant, doctors fear his cancer will keep coming back.

Taylor is a business partner at the Crazy Horse Grill in Kanata, and he manages Grace O'Malley's pub in Toronto. In October, his friends and colleagues held swabbing parties, hoping to find him a stem-cell match.

In Canada, the OneMatch registry is looking for male donors aged 17 to 35. For those who do match someone in need, the procedure isn't painful; in most cases it's similar to donating blood.

In November, Taylor was told his match had been found. Days before the transplant, the donor suffered a medical complication that made him unable to donate.

Taylor was put back on the list, and a second donor was found. A new transplant date was set for early April. Suddenly, that donor has backed-out. The circumstances surrounding that decision remain confidential.

"There are a lot of reasons why somebody could (back-out), so I can't judge, says Taylor, Who am I to judge anyway. I have to stay positive for my own fight.

Right now Taylor's cancer is in remission, he only hopes to find another match before it returns.

If the cancer comes back we are in trouble, explains Taylor. We can't do the transplant that's the problem. The patient has to be in remission, that's why the clock is ticking.

CTVs Natalie Pierosara will have more on this story tonight at six.

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Ottawa mans stem-cell transplant set-back