*Update: Al's battle with MSA ended in October 2010. We're grateful to him and Joanne for letting us have this interview from their time in Qingdao.*

Al traveled to China in late 2008 to receive umbilical cord blood stem cells to stop the progression of a mysterious neurodegenerative disorder he and his wife had never heard of--Cerebellar Ataxia.

In this video Al and his wife talk about their decision to come to China, the research they did prior to their decision and the experience they had in China.

Please note that Al's diagnosis was changed several months after their trip to China as his condition began to progress again. His new diagnosis is Multiple System Atrophy, a faster-degenerating disorder than Cerebellar Ataxia.

Adult stem cell therapy is not a cure and the improvements patients experience may have a limited duration. We at StemCellsChina want to present patients' stories even when a patient's improvements are not long-lasting.