Go ahead, Ms. McLeod, please.
Evidence of meeting #35 for Health in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was bank.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #35 for Health in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was bank.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
We've talked a lot about potential applications and we've talked somewhat about the current clinical applications in terms of what's being used. Can we talk a little more about current clinical applications and things that aren't researched but are helping patients every day? Can we talk a little more about some of the different applications? We just talked about leukemia....
12:45 p.m.
Scientific Director, Stem Cell Network
Blood transplantation is the major clinical application of stem cells today. I think that's without question. It's huge. In North America there must be hundreds of thousands of bone marrow transplantations done on an annual basis, if not more.
12:45 p.m.
Chair, Board of Directors, Canadian Stem Cell Foundation
Aside from the major products that are out there right now, there's one really for dealing with severe burns and diabetic ulcers. Essentially, skin stem cells are transplanted over the wound. I think about a quarter of a million patients have been treated with that product. The numbers are growing by 50,000 to 100,000 a year.
Part of the challenge, and it's going to be a challenge as we get into the delivery of therapies later on, is that it's not just about developing a therapy that works: there's a whole challenge in having that adopted as the standard of care in the hospitals and in clinicians being ready to use it and accept it, because that's the way to move forward. Our challenges don't end once we get something into the clinic. It's going to be an ongoing process. Burn victims are one, and the others are cartilage repairs and tendon repairs, and drugs as well.
12:45 p.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Provincial Clinical Director of Oncology, CancerCare Manitoba
I would add that I believe we are not training enough of those kinds of clinicians in the technologies that they need to use. Therefore, we need action now, because experts don't just develop overnight. It takes 10 years or more to develop clinicians who are well versed and able to advise patients as well as take part in systems planning for appropriate utilization of these kinds of technologies. We need to train a lot more, and there aren't enough funds to train clinician scientists.
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Thank you.
I think you were going to talk a little bit about pharmaceuticals.
12:45 p.m.
Scientific Director, Stem Cell Network
Yes. There are examples of drugs that target stem cells or progenitor cells. For example, erythropoietin, EPO, is a drug that expands the progenitors in the blood system to make more red blood cells. It's a widely used drug. There are other examples of drugs like that in the clinic as well. Various cytokines are used for specific applications, mostly in the blood system.
As an example of drugs that target stem cells, I think they illustrate how this will become more widespread as findings around mechanisms of stem cell functions are exploited to develop new drugs in the clinic. Therapies can involve cells, but they can also involve drugs. That's very important to remember.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
I want to thank everybody for joining us today on the health committee.
We're going to suspend the committee in just a moment because we have some committee business that has to be attended to before we go back to the House of Commons.
This has been an extremely useful and very valuable day. I can say that your expertise is of paramount importance to this committee, so I want to thank you all for joining us.
[Proceedings continue in camera]