I'll ask again, why isn't there a huge media circus around the paralyzed patients that can walk again?

Sound like urban legends. What's your primary data source?

the media doesn't want to cause a big stink.  the use of stem cells is very controversial and is not widely accepted.
i think that with proper restrictions it is great way to save people.
i do not agree with abortion but if a woman chooses to murder her baby, then at least that way the precious life was not completely wasted.
there are ways to utilize adult and even umbilical cord stem cells.
the spontaneous abortions (miscarrying the baby-naturally!) should be used when used when available and researchers should be STRONGLY DISCOURAGED  from using aborted fetuses and those who use stem cells cells from the proper sources [adult, umbilical, spontaneous abortions, etc...] should be rewarded-additional grant money for extra research would be ideal.

The simple answer is just that: they went to China. China is notorious for not being forth-coming with data on their patients and procedures, so it is really hard to get independent verification of claims they make. In the medical profession, people try not to get too excited about something until it has been well documented and proven and widely accepted, because otherwise you undermine people's trust in health care providers. What I find even more exciting, though, and is happening right here in the united states, is the use of embryonic stem cells to regrow cardiac cells on patients who had a heart attack.

Both that and the claim in your question would be huge advances, but remember you are dealing with an area of science that is poorly understood, and to create a "media circus" around it would perhaps unfairly get people's hopes up prematurely hoping to cure life-long ailments. I assure you, once treatments like that are better understood and approved, the marketing campaign around it will be nothing short of a circus, and insurance companies will charge a ridiculous amount to cover you for it.

I have seen a similar documentary about patients who were damaged by a chemically contaminated illegal drug that caused the death of the cells of the Substantia Nigra in the brain.  People with Parkinson's disease also have damage to the Substantia Nigra cells in the brain.  The people affected by this drug were very disabled, had poor balance, and several were barely able to walk.  A select group went overseas and received stem cell transplants into their brains and after a recovery time, demonstrated remarkable changes in their ability to coordinate movements and balance.  Some went from only being able to shuffle their feet a few inches at a time to riding a bicycle.


The Ethical situation surrounding this issue seems to be the main reason more research is NOT done and more documentaries do not exist.  Fetal cells are the least differentiated (most primitive and flexible in their ability to develop into any kind of cell in the body).  Unfortunately, they must come from either an egg fertilized outside the body or from an aborted fetus.  Either way, once the cells are manipulated, the fetus is not viable and therefore "dead".  Ethically, the question is at what point in the process does the fetus represent a person with the same rights as any other person.  This blends issues of religion and law together in a way that does not seem possible to resolve to everyone's satisfaction.