Every day at CIRM we get emails and calls from people looking for a stem cell clinical trial to help them. Some have arthritis in the knee or hip and want to avoid surgery. Some have a child with autism and want something that will ease the symptoms. Some have cancer and conventional therapies no longer work for them. Many have run out of options. Some are running out of time.

It’s hard to tell someone who is desperate that you don’t have anything that can help them, that there are no stem cell clinical trials that would be appropriate for them. Many often push back, saying they’ve seen ads online and visited websites for companies that claim to have stem cell therapies that can help them. When I say those therapies have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, or even been shown to be safe let alone effective, I can hear the disappointment in their voice.

I know some will go on to try those therapies anyway, because they have nothing else. I don’t blame them. I might do the same myself.

But before making an informed decision about any therapy it is important for people to have all the facts in front of them.

That’s why we are holding a special Facebook Live “Ask the Stem Cell Team About Clinical Trials” event on Thursday, April 25^th from noon till 1pm PDT.

We are bringing together three experts who will help us all understand what’s a good clinical trial, and what’s a bogus one. They will talk about:

• Red flags that a stem cell “clinic” might be more interested in making money than making you better
• Key things to look for to choose a bona fide stem cell clinical trial
• What are the questions you need to ask before signing up for any clinical
• What are good sources of information to turn to for guidance

The Stem Cell Team will talk about CIRM’s Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Network, contrasting the time and resources they devote to offering patients stem cell clinical trials that are endorsed by the FDA, with clinics that promise people their own fat or blood cells can fix everything from bad knees to multiple sclerosis.

Our experts include a doctor and a nurse from the Alpha Clinics Network with years of experience in running and managing clinical trials, plus our own Geoff Lomax who helps support the entire network.

It will be an eye opening, informative and engaging hour and we want you to be part of it.  You can either join us on the day and post questions for the panel to answer, or you can email them directly to us beforehand at info@cirm.ca.gov.

Also, be sure to “like” our FaceBook page before the event to receive a notification when we’ve gone live for this and future events. If you can’t watch the broadcast “live”, not to worry, we’ll be posting it on our Facebook video page, our website, and YouTube channel shortly afterwards.

In the days leading up to the broadcast we’ll give you the broadcast link that will take you to the event itself.

We look forward to having you join us for this really important Facebook Live event.

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area this week you can join us at our fourth Annual CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Network Symposium where the topic of how to choose a clinical trial that’s right for you will be front and center.

The symposium is on Thursday, April 18^th from 8.30am to 4.30pm. It’s open to the public and it’s free.

You can find details about the event, including how you can register, HERE.