Medical Breakthrough -- Kinder, Gentler Stem Cell Transplant

You've no doubt heard a lot about stem cell research and the ethical dilemma.

But stem cell transplants -- with those cells not coming from embryos -- are making a difference in people's lives.

Stem cell transplants offer hope to people with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

But the transplant itself is no picnic -- especially on young, frail bodies.

Until now.

Eight-year-old Ryan Patrick knows a lot about trains.

"These are both diesel. These three are all steam," he says.

But he doesn't talk much about his health.

"This is, I think, a European caboose," says Ryan.

He has a rare immune disease that's left him with diabetes and life-threatening allergies.

"Allergies to wheat, rye, barley, soy, eggs, legumes, apples, fish," says his mom, Amy.

Kids in Ryan's condition are lucky to live past five, so his parents took a gamble on a treatment that could save his life.

"This was going to be a very high-risk transplant."

Dr. Shalini Shenoy and her colleagues at Washington University are studying a new kind of transplant. Patients typically get radiation and chemo so they won't reject the transplant. But toxic doses can cause brain damage and infertility.

"There are numerous organs that can be affected," says Dr. Shenoy.

The drug Campath helps prevent rejection and is usually given at the time of transplant. Now, Dr. Shenoy gives it three weeks before. That eliminates radiation and lowers the dose of chemo.

"If you told me 10 years or 15 years ago that a transplant could be done without a lot of chemotherapy or radiation, I would have said, 'Oh, you've got to be kidding me,'" says Dr. Shenoy.

Most patients recover immune function about one year later with no major infections.

Ryan had the transplant and now eats food that could have killed him before.

"It's like we woke up and we found out the last eight-and-a-half years were a horrible, horrible nightmare. And now, it's morning," says his mom.

This type of transplant shows promise for metabolic disorders, some genetic disorders, and even sickle cell disease.

It's not been tested on cancer yet, although Dr. Shenoy thinks it's possible.

There are risks for infection with this procedure and patients need to be closely monitored.

Six centers are involved in this type of stem cell research.