Lets use someone faily well know. Don Ho went in for a stem cell procedure last year and is now reporting some success: "I'm feeling much better and I'm so happy I came up here to do it," the 75-year-old entertainer said in a statement regarding a procedure by the company Theravitae an Israeli-Thai company.

Theravitae is focusing on adult stem cell treatment of heart disease. Stem cells are extracted directly from a patient's own blood.

Essentially there is no risk of rejection since the cells are actually the patient's. Furthermore, it also does not use embryonic stem cells, the much debated site of stem cell research.

After a two-week trip last fall to Theravitae's clinic in Thailand for the procecure, Marie Carty is once again walking two miles a day on the boardwalk in Little Silver, N.J.. Her strengthened heart has led doctors to remove her from the heart transplant list.

Carty is one of the 70 people who have so far undergone Theravitae's procedure, said Valentin Fulga, chief executive of the company. Thusfar, all patients have shown improvement, he said.

So not to say that this is all fact, and that we can 100% put our faith into stem cell procedures. Thusfar, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved this particular procedure for use in the US. Doctors do hope that in the near future, it can be a substitute for heart transplants. The permanence of these repairs has yet to be determined.

Read more in San Diego - Israeli-Thai company uses adult stem cells in effort to heal failing hearts

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