Shawnee, KS - Senator Mike Thompson, Republican of Shawnee, issued the following statement reacting to the veto of a budget provision providing funding to the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center at KU Medical Center.
"Today, Governor Kelly dashed hopes for a treatment for those who experience the most severe cases of COVID-19, with a swipe of her veto pen. The veto ignores the important research being done right here in our own back yard at the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center (MSCTC), established by the Kansas Legislature in 2013.
There is currently no treatment available for COVID-19 patients who have developed the most severe symptoms, including pneumonia. One of the critical stages before death is when the patient's immune system overreacts to the virus, propelling the body into a highly inflammatory "cytokine storm" state, which then leads to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multi-organ failure. There is an urgent need for a medical intervention beyond supportive therapy for these patients.
Peer-reviewed scientific studies indicate a type of adult stem cell, called Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), derived from the umbilical cord, can reduce inflammation by "calming the storm," allowing the body to fight and repair damage.
The Governor's line-item veto of $500,000 ensures that a remedy which is ready for testing, will not be available to Kansas citizens. This therapy is also promising for a number of other severe inflammatory diseases, so COVID patients are not the only ones losing out by this short-sighted veto.
The Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center has a distinct advantage over all other proposals to use MSCs for COVID-19, because of their previous work.
For a clinical trial involving a minimum of 10 patients, approximately $500,000 is required. Should the MSCTC COVID-19 trial provide the anticipated relief so desperately needed by critically ill COVID-19 patients, this clinical trial would quickly open the door for this therapy for other patients, not only in Kansas but across the USA.
Not only am I disappointed in the Governor's decision to undermine this ground-breaking research, but Kansans, as well as all citizens who have lost a loved one to COVID-19 will be devastated at the loss of opportunity to save lives."
