Oz Said That “Embryonic Stem Cells Offer Us Great Opportunities Than Adult Stem Cells Do.” According to a column by Mehmet Oz and Abeel Mangi published in the Saturday Morning Post, “Even though no clinical studies have been performed, from a purely scientific standpoint, embryonic stem cells offer us greater opportunities than adult stem cells do. These include the chance to study development of organisms and the processes that lie behind appropriate growth, maturation, and senescence. We are therefore able to study why we develop the way we do, why we mature, grow old and eventually die. We would be able to identify precursor cells--cells that are no longer stem cells but have the ability to differentiate into certain lineages--perhaps allowing us to one day circumvent having to harvest stem cells.” [Mehmet Oz And Abeel Mangi Column – Saturday Morning Post, 11/1/04]
Oz Said That Embryonic Stem Cells Could Help “Identify Genes Involved In Illness, Identify Potential Therapeutic Targets For Gene And Drug Therapy, And Allow Us To Test Drugs For Toxicity On Certain Cell Types.” According to a column by Mehmet Oz and Abeel Mangi published in the Saturday Morning Post, “Moreover, embryonic stem cells allow us to identify genes that are involved in the processes outlined above. Given the inextricable links between mistakes in development and disease, such approaches would give us the ability to identify genes involved in illness, identify potential therapeutic targets for gene and drug therapy, and allow us to test drugs for toxicity on certain cell types, thereby obviating the need for extensive animal testing that has little relevance to human application. In addition, embryonic stem cells allow us to develop a high-throughput functional testing strategy for drugs and gene therapy, which should accelerate delivery of more effective and less expensive medications for human use.” [Mehmet Oz And Abeel Mangi Column – Saturday Morning Post, 11/1/04]
Oz Said That “Other Nations Have Been Forward-Thinking And Dynamic In Allowing Embryonic Stem Cell Research To Flourish Within Their Boundaries.” According to a column by Mehmet Oz and Abeel Mangi published in the Saturday Morning Post, “In the end, science is an international activity, and other nations have been forward-thinking and dynamic in allowing embryonic stem cell research to flourish within their boundaries, often providing a haven to high-profile scientists who have chosen to flee the restrictive environment for scientific endeavor in the USA. But one example of such a migration is that of Dr. Roger Pedersen, who decided to leave the University of California at San Francisco for England in 2001. Others such as Dr. Douglas Melton of Harvard University have had to resort to "underground" strategies, such as performing their research in laboratories that have been constructed and supplied using private funds--and have no connection to the mainstream laboratories at Harvard.” [Mehmet Oz And Abeel Mangi Column – Saturday Morning Post, 11/1/04]
Oz Claimed That Stem Cells Had The Potential To Help Deal With Heart Disease. According to CNN Saturday Morning, “OZ: I think the biggest news was the stem cell story. It's interesting because for most of Western medical history, we have believed that the heart could not regenerate itself. Once injured, it was done. And we learned at this heart meeting that there were several different ways we could take bone marrow cells -- these cells that are designed to recreate new elements of the body that are damaged can actually enter the heart and change the ability of the heart to respond to injury, in particular a heart attack. You mentioned one wonderful example in heart failure. But for me the more compelling story was if a patient's having a heart attack, once you open that blood vessel, frequently the damaged muscle doesn't recover. There's been so much injury that you can't clean out the debris, you can't lay down a plot form for new muscle growth. By injecting cells soon after a heart attack, we may change the natural history of the leading killer of man and womankind.” [CNN Saturday Morning, 11/15/03]
2004: Oz Recommended That The President “Allow Federal Funding For Stem Cell-Related Research” And To Convene A Dedicated Federal Panel To Oversee The Activities Of Private And State-Run Enterprises. According to a column by Mehmet Oz and Abeel Mangi published in the Saturday Morning Post, “In summary, we recommend that the President allow federal funding for stem cell-related research and that he convene a dedicated federal panel (under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health) to oversee the activities of private and state-run enterprises. This panel of scientists, physicians and ethicists should ensure a fair and open public debate on the scientific and ethical merits of the field.” [Mehmet Oz And Abeel Mangi Column – Saturday Morning Post, 11/1/04]
Oz Claimed That It Was “Unfortunate” That “The Embryonic Stem Cell Question Has Been Manipulated Into A Surrogate For America's Argument Over The Ethics Of Elective Abortion.” According to a column by Mehmet Oz and Abeel Mangi published in the Saturday Morning Post, “Embryonic stem cell use comes with its own set of unique limitations. Donor-recipient incompatibility is a major concern, but can be potentially circumvented by banking large numbers of human embryonic stem cells so at least one could work for you, or by genetically modifying them to resist immune challenges. As long as absolute restrictions on the use of human embryonic stem cells for research exist, our scientists cannot study these questions. Unfortunately, the embryonic stem cell question has been manipulated into a surrogate for America's argument over the ethics of elective abortion, although the strategies for embryonic cell extraction and elective abortion are distinct.” [Mehmet Oz And Abeel Mangi Column – Saturday Morning Post, 11/1/04]
Oz: “Well-Developed Fetuses And Embryos Can Be Argued To Not Share Equal Moral Status, Given The Limited Potential That Pre-Implantation Embryos Have To Become Fetuses And, Therefore, Adults.” According to a column by Mehmet Oz and Abeel Mangi published in the Saturday Morning Post, “One pole of this debate views the creation and manipulation of living human embryos for the sole purpose of generating therapeutic tissue as incompatible with respect for vulnerable human life with opprobrium, We believe there is a distinct moral position between creating and destroying an embryo for research purposes to obtain stem cells exclusively versus using an embryo that was created for reproduction but will never be used for any purpose. In addition, well-developed fetuses and embryos can be argued to not share equal moral status, given the limited potential that pre-implantation embryos have to become fetuses and, therefore, adults. In fact, over 99 percent of such pre-implantation embryos are thought to be lost in a miscarriage even before the first menstrual period is missed.” [Mehmet Oz And Abeel Mangi Column – Saturday Morning Post, 11/1/04]
2004: Oz Criticized President Bush For Putting Restrictions On Federal Funding For Research On Embryonic Stem Cells. According to a column by Mehmet Oz and Abeel Mangi published in the Saturday Morning Post, “On August 9, 2001, the President addressed the nation and prefaced his comments by recognizing that ‘rapid progress in ... research will come only with federal funds. Federal dollars help attract the best and brightest scientists. They ensure new discoveries are widely shared at the largest number of research facilities and that the research is directed toward the greatest public good.’ However, in citing the type of moral opposition that we outlined above, and by limiting the research to lines on which ‘the life and death decision has already been made,’ he restricted federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells to the 64 lines of stem cells that already exist. Unfortunately, the President did not recognize that only 21 of the original cell lines are actually useable for research purposes, and only 4 of the 14 institutions that house these cells are actually located within the United States. As Dr. Spar has argued in a recent New England Journal of Medicine editorial, historical equivalents to such a broad stifling of technological development by a centralized authority harkens to the reaction of the Church to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, and the reaction of governmental and private interests at the invention and spread of radio as a medium of communication in the early 20th century. As a result of the legislation, federally funded scientists toil to answer generic questions about embryonic stem cells such as optimizing culture conditions or studying the factors that promote self-renewal.” [Mehmet Oz And Abeel Mangi Column – Saturday Morning Post, 11/1/04]
[VIDEO] Oz Said That The Stem Cell Debate Was “Dead” And That “The Problem With Embryonic Stem Cells Is That Embryonic Stem Cells Come From Embryos, Like All Of Us Were Made From Embryos And Those Cells Can Become Any Cell In The Body.” “I’m going to say something that’s a bit provocative. . . . .I think, Oprah, the stem cell debate is dead. And I’ll tell you why. . . . The problem with embryonic stem cells is that embryonic stem cells come from embryos, like all of us were made from embryos and those cells can become any cell in the body but it’s very hard to control them and so they can become cancer.” [Oprah Winfrey Show, 3/19/09]
Oz Called Stem Cells A “Powerful Tool To Use In Conquering Disease.” According to an op-ed by Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen in the Record Searchlight, “Stem cells are the highly versatile spare tires of your body. Once called on, they can replace a damaged cell – and, because they aren’t yet directed to become part of a specific organ or tissue type, they not only could become (metaphorically speaking) a new tire, but could also fix a worn-out engine part or a cracked windshield. It just takes the right prodding in the body, or the laboratory. They can do it even after being inactive for a long time. Those remarkable abilities are promising to provide scientists with a powerful tool to use in conquering disease.” [Op-ed by Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen - Record Searchlight, 8/6/17]
Oz Called The Possible Uses Of Stem Cells A “Promising Future.” According to an op-ed by Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen in the Record Searchlight, “No more heart transplants; bye, bye diabetes, macular degeneration, spinal cord injury, osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis. We might even repair third-degree burns and stroke damage that was previously considered permanent. That promising future became more hopeful in 2006, when researchers figured out how to turn specialized adult stem cells (replacing use of embryonic cells in some research) into what they called ‘induced pluripotent stem cells’ (iPSCs). Since then, the number of experiments using iPSCs has sky-rocketed: Adult mouse stem cells are injected into the damaged ventricular wall of a mouse heart and the stem cells regenerated damaged heart muscle. There have been a few, small, human-based studies that, says the National Institutes of Health, have ‘demonstrated that stem cells that are injected into the circulation or directly into the injured heart tissue appear to improve cardiac function and/or induce the formation of new capillaries.’ But and this is a big but they caution, ‘significant technical hurdles remain that will only be overcome through years of intensive research.’” [Op-ed by Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen Record Searchlight, 8/6/17]
[AUDIO] Oz Shared The Benefits Of Stem Cells And Said He Was Very Passionate About Its Potential. According to transcript, “Oz: They've got a stem cell initiative, which I feel passionately about for two reasons. One, stem cells like the kind that we're used to save Meabh Gabriel's life, offer huge opportunities and not just for cancer. They could I heard ideas for autism or neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's that might benefit from stem cells, again, their conceptual still.” [America's Doctor, 7/12/18]
[VIDEO] Oz Said He “Would Extend Research For Stem Cells” And That “You Can Make Stem Cells Without Using Embryos.” “Question: And like I was just wondering, what are your thoughts on stem cell research? And if you were elected to the Senate, would you support expanding research for stem cells? Oz: I would extend research for stem cells, which, as you know and you're so well spoken for, 16. My goodness, if you look at what stem cells can do now, they are opening up huge opportunities for us to start to address illnesses ranging from neurologic conditions to some cancers. You can make stem cells without using embryos. And so this is taking away a lot of the concerns about the use of stem cells. We do not fund big breaking research enough in America, and we made it very difficult academically to prosper with younger minds. And too often the research process is calcified. It takes a long time to get grants that you often grant grants, but things are sort of obvious because they know they'll work. You want to grant grants sometimes for things that are a bit riskier. So the government, all of us can figure out if their Hail Mary passes that work because they open up avenues of research. Primary sclerosing cholangitis, which you have, is an ailment that you can live, as you point out, for our meantime. But you could live much longer if we learn more about it and can actually begin to prevent the sclerosing that happens and the cancers that sometimes arise within those sclerosing areas. And that's where stem cells could play an active role. God bless you for your family and your commitment to health.” [Dr. Oz, Virtual Town Hall, PA, 4/3/22]