Ian McBride, a former hospital porter, became the first person from Northern Ireland to undergo the controversial therapy treatment as he sought to recover from paralysis on the left side of his body. Even though he claims to be partially cured, the Belfast City hospital will not re-employ him.
“Ian McBride is no longer an employee. He was discharged at the time of his stroke,” the hospital has confirmed. “He has a grievance process in place with the Belfast City Hospital Trust that relates to applying for work in a different area to his previous job as a porter.”
McBride, 50, suffered a stroke on March 27, 2004. Following stem cell treatment last July, at a cost of $25,000 (€20,600), he regained some mobility in his left arm and leg. McBride, who has undergone computer training since his stroke, was recently advised by his occupational therapist that he could return to work in some capacity.
“At 50 years of age, I’d like to think there’s a wee bit of life in me yet and I have something to contribute not only to my family but to society as a whole,” said McBride in a new BBC Northern Ireland documentary, A Cure for Ian.
McBride’s improved mobility contradicts medical opinion on stem cell therapy. There is no conclusive evidence so far that the treatment can cure debilitating illnesses and diseases. The therapy, which is banned in Ireland and Britain, is controversial because it uses stem cells harvested from aborted foetuses.
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After his stroke, McBride underwent surgery to remove a life-threatening blood clot from his brain. He has said he initially wished he hadn’t survived the stroke, which left him paralysed down the left side.
“In the early days I would have preferred to have died. I was quite angry with the people who had operated on me.”
Through research on the internet, McBride discovered an American company, Stem Cell Therapy International (SCTI), offering treatments at the Institute of Cell Therapy (ICT) in Kiev. Last July he travelled to the ICT to undergo five days of treatment.
The $25,000 cost of McBride’s treatment in Kiev was paid for by his life savings and the fundraising of friends and family. Although the treatment restored some mobility to his paralysed limbs, he is not completely cured.
The BBC documentary, which followed McBride’s journey to Kiev, shows how he regained mobility after only two days of injections.
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“For the first time in 18 months I’m able to put on my own sock,” McBride said, while lifting his left leg onto his bent right knee.
Despite the improved mobility, however, McBride will not be returning to Kiev for more treatment. “They recommend returning for a second and third treatment, but in the first place it’s very expensive and, secondly, I don’t believe I’ll ever be the way I was before the stroke, so I won’t be returning for more treatment,” said McBride.
During his stay at the ICT, McBride and his partner, Margaret Conville, were not told what he was being injected with. McBride asked the clinic to write a letter to his doctor to outline what he was injected with. The letter only offered general advice on what to do and foods to avoid, however.
Cases such as McBride’s are encouraging others to seek out stem cell treatment. Peggy Quinn, a patient from Cork with motor neuron disease, is close to raising €25,000 in order to receive stem cell therapy in Kiev.
“A woman from Glanmire with multiple sclerosis got stem cell treatment,” said Michelle Quinn, Peggy’s daughter. “She doesn’t need a carer anymore and she’s walking away — she’s slow, like, but she’s walking and able to drive.”
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Despite anecdotal evidence, however, there are those in the medical profession who are concerned that the treatment is raising false hopes.
“The problem is that stem cells don’t work,” said Dr Orla Hardiman, consultant neurologist at Beaumont hospital. “There is zero evidence that they work to cure anything, even in animals — that’s not to say that it couldn’t happen in the future.
“People with chronic diseases are very vulnerable to this kind of charlatan work. We’re not opposed to alternative therapies as long as it doesn’t harm the patient and that it doesn’t bankrupt them.”
SCTI was unable to say what the success rate of stem cell treatment was.
“The clinic has been working in stem cell therapy for years and we’ve been involved with them for just about a year,” said Peter Sidorenko, chief operating officer of SCTI.
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“One of the problems dealing with these clinics is that they have no documentation to support their success rate. We had to implement a lot of new procedures in that area.”