Blind teen goes to China for stem-cell procedure

WELLINGTON -Macie Morse was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, or ONH, a condition where optic nerves don't develop properly in the womb. Today, Morse, 15, is legally blind.

With the dream of being a veterinarian, Morse wants to improve her vision.

With no time-tested cure or treatment available, Morse has signed up for experimental stem-cell treatment in China.

The treatment is drawing patients from across the United States.

Though the therapy is being employed to treat several medical conditions, its use with children who have ONH has garnered national attention.

Basically, the procedure entails infusions of stem cells taken from umbilical cords. These cord blood cells are different than the controversial embryonic stem cells.

The Chinese clinic offering this treatment, Beike Biotechnology, claims success.

"There hasn't been one case where they haven't seen improvements," said Rochelle Morse, Macie's mother. "They've all made improvements."

The findings, however, don't hold water with Chris Hogan, associate director of the Charles C. Gate Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Biology Program at the University of Colorado Denver.

He said the procedure has not undergone the rigorous testing required in the United States.

"In no case would I be allowed to take cord blood cells and open up shop and treat optic nerve disease. It just can't be done that way ... You could see how this could lead to witch doctors."

The question surrounding the therapy isn't stopping Macie Morse.

On Friday, she and her mother left their home in Wellington and flew to China.

The treatment, which lasts five weeks, costs about $30,000, Rochelle Morse said.

She said the money came in through fundraisers.

"Just the way people have stepped up and they've helped without asking," she said. "You feel so touched."

As for Macie Morse, she's grateful for both the money and the newfound possibility of better vision.

"Any little bit that I get, I will be happy for," she said.

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080706/NEWS01/807060326

 

Update: Macie is over half way through her treatment and is already making wonderful improvements.  She can read from farther away and smaller letters and just the other days saw the green color of her mothers eyes for the first time.