There aren’t that many stem cell blogs out there on the Internet, although the number is growing, and the one that has been around quite a while is called “Repairstemcell” or “The Stem Cell Blog”.
Granovsky is a self-proclaimed empowerer of patients and calls himself “the informer”, apparently meaning someone who will guide patients to specific clinics for treatment.
He’s a pro-adult stem cell research and anti-ES cell research guy. I can respect that opinion even if that’s not my view.
People have different opinions, especially on stem cells, right?
But Granovksy has gone beyond the realm of constructive dialogue.
Granovsky has disrespected the dead, a dead patient in fact, and in that way disrespects all patients with his extreme post on Christopher Reeve yesterday, which Granovsky informs us would have been Reeve’s 60th birthday.
As you may know, the actor Reeve sustained a severe spinal cord injury and became a stem cell advocate even as he suffered as a patient. Because Reeve advocated for a wide variety of stem cell research including in particular ES cell research, some folks have been critical of Reeve.
Yesterday I think Granovsky went too far. Way too far.
He attacked the late Christopher Reeve in a post called “Christopher Reeve’s Stem Cell Spinal Cord Mistake”.
In this post, Granovsky argues that Christopher Reeve is responsible for his own death because he focused on ES cells instead of adult stem cells, saying:
Christopher Reeve would most likely have reached his 60th birthday today had he focused on adult stem cell treatments instead of embryonic.
How unkind to attack a dead man, a spinal cord injury patient, and blame that courageous man for his own death for not having the “right” ideology. I believe that Christopher Reeve deserves our respect and in fact I consider him a hero.
The disrespect is less troublesome for me than the hypothetical claim that Reeve would still be alive, if only he had embraced adult stem cells. Even if some patients did regain the ability to walk, that doesn’t necessarily apply to Reeve’s condition.
I looked up one of the studies Granovsky mentions as a success for adult stem cells, “Olfactory mucosal autografts and rehabilitation for chronic traumatic spinal cord injury,” and saw it was published three years after Reeve died.
Politics, no matter what the ideology, is an enemy of science.
Politics is not an enemy, but a failure by it’s very nature to keep pace with science.
I read that post. I believe it was close to the line, but surely not as bad as your hysterics about “disrespects all patients” made it out to be. You made a mountain out of a molehill with this post. I think you should apologize to Granovsky. People come to this blog to hear news about recent developments in stem cell research– not for this garbage.
@ Joy – You should thank Paul for posting your insipid comment and apologize to everyone else.
You’ve just given Granovsky the very thing he craves the most – free advertising. Granovsky is a disciple of Don Margolis and has worked for him many years. In fact, he designed the 8 story condo that Margolis and his son, Robert Clark built in Bangkok (www.baansaraan.com). One might wonder where all that money came from?
Margolis, a former insurance company actuary, understands very well that he doesn’t need to convince everyone, he just needs to convince a select, small percentage to make loads of money and that’s exactly what he is doing by courting the right-wing, pro-life segment. Granovsky is a chip off the old block…
Of course that thought crossed my mind and I do not usually comment on his posts, but this one really bothered me.
I’ve heard that these guys are connected together.