China tests stem-cell therapy for heart disease

Monday marks World Heart Day. One of the most serious conditions is Chronic Heart Disease. It has no cure to date - but in China, scientists are hoping to find one, using stem-cell technology. Up to ten new trial sites are being set up to test the use of stem-cell therapy in treating the disease.

Shen Ruijiang developed chronic heart disease five years ago. After surgery and a series of prescription drugs, dangerous side effects set in.

"The side effects are heavy. They can cause diabetes. I had to have a kidney transplant, so now I need to be more careful in treating my heart condition," Heart disease patient Shen Ruijiang said.

While current treatments can slow his disease, they can't cure it.

The government estimates chronic heart failure now affects 30 million Chinese people,that's more than Australia's entire population.

But stem cell therapy - a treatment now being tested at this hospital - could help.

This machine is sorting the stem cells from the ordinary cells. Stem cells are very rare but very valuable, because they help regenerate organs. Stem-cell therapy works by re-programming patients' own cells into new organ cells, such as heart cells. If it passes this latest trial, it will enter the Chinese market and potentially save millions of lives.

There's still a long way to go. A clinical trial on human patients would need regulatory approval.And once it hits the market, experts say it must be carefully controlled.

"Stem-cell therapy is very promising to deal with chronic heart disease. After 1-2 years, we want to get results. But in the world, we are trying to find any standard, any guideline. So I am afraid, if this new technique is over-used, or illegally used, it may injure patients," Prof. Zhou Yujie, vice-president of Beijing Anzhen Hospital, said.

As China's stem cell therapy is still incubating, doctors have yet to fully understand it's risks - and potential. That could change prospects for millions of patients, like Shen.