ABOVE: Patients received infusions of stem cells harvested from tissue that lined donated umbilical cords.
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Hyperbaric chambers. Dietary supplements. Special diets. Dorinda Weeks’ son Aaron had tried them all. Ever since Aaron was diagnosed with autism at age 4, Weeks had resisted medication and behavioral therapies supported by science in favor of alternative approaches.
Aaron had repetitive behaviors such as hand-flapping, persistent gastrointestinal distress, hyperactivity, and sensory sensitivities to food. And none of these treatments helped.
In 2014, when Aaron was 9, Weeks decided to try a more invasive therapy. “I was at a point in my life where I just had to do something for [him],” Weeks recalls.
She enrolled Aaron in a clinical trial led by a for-profit company called the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City, Panama. During four visits to Panama over nine months, Aaron received infusions of stem cells harvested from tissue that ...
