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Hello Group - Today marks the 5th anniversary of my pig cell xenotransplantation surgery. And what a 5 years it has been! (For those of you who are not familiar with this story, go to URL <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/jimcfinn/index.html"> http://www.geocities.com/jimcfinn/index.html</A> Last week found me in Boston for the annual checkup. While I don't have the data from all of the testing that was performed, I can tell you that the attending neurologist was "impressed" with what he saw. The tests consisted of the usual battery of heel tapping, balance check, palm up/palm down, walking ability, and the like. They are done after the patient is off of medication for more than 15 hours and are redone 1 hour after medication is taken. As you can imagine it's a very tiring day. Of course there's lots of blood work also. They needed to take 10 vials this time. How am I feeling? Well, actually. Although I am not even close to being cured I am doing better. For example, before the operation I was needing a wheelchair more and more frequently. Now, there is never a time when I cannot walk. It may be a bit clumsy and awkward but it is always possible. I can, and do, go shopping alone. THAT's progress! Remember I am part of the Phase 1 research project. Phase 2 was a major disappointment. In that group there were no discernible differences between the patients that received the actual cells and those that had a placebo-controlled surgery. The scientists at Genzyme/Diacrin are trying to figure out this unexpected outcome. I have volunteered for additional examination; that might help with ongoing research. The past year has been very exhilarating. This story has gotten an enormous amount of publicity on the Internet and in the mass media, both print and broadcast. Examples include BBC, TLC, PBS's Frontline, Popular Science and others. In fact a reporter from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp will be interviewing yours truly later on today. I am presently serving on a Federal government panel, in Washington, concerned with xenotransplantation. If any of you have questions please feel free to write directly to me. [log in to unmask] Warmly - Jim Finn PS - The man from Canadian radio came and conducted the interview. I will let the group know when it will air in Canada and the US; possibly in October - November. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn