By P.J. Malone

It appears that we are squandering an opportunity to add diversity to our economic growth potential by refusing the contributions of fashion mogul Peter Nygard to The Bahamas in the area of stem cell research and medical tourism.

From time to time in the Bahamas, we have allowed ourselves to get upset and outraged by things that are not necessarily factual. We allow a few possibly well-intention individuals, but woefully misinformed, to influence our thinking and guide our actions.

We cannot allow the blind to lead the blind. And, we cannot let our own ignorance on issues cause us to be left behind in a world that is constantly changing and progressing by leaps and bounds. I fear that is happening in the arena of stem cell research.

It is important to have a full understanding of the issues to be able to make intelligent decisions so that the personal agendas of others do not mistakenly influence our thinking and cause us to do their bidding.

So let’s start with the basics on stem cell research. First of all, what are stem cells? The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services through the National Institutes of Health describes stem cells this way:

“Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.”

As MedicalNewsToday.com explains, stem cells are able to differentiate into specialized cell types and come from two main sources:

1. Embryos (embryonic stem cells) and
2. Adult tissue (adult stem cells)

According to MedicalNewsToday.com, “Both types are generally characterized by their potency, or potential to differentiate into different cell types (such as skin, muscle, bone, etc.).”

They expound further on Adult stem cells:

“Adult or somatic stem cells exist throughout the body after embryonic development and are found inside of different types of tissue. These stem cells have been found in tissues such as the brain, bone marrow, blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscles, skin, and the liver.

“They remain in a quiescent or non-dividing state for years until activated by disease or tissue injury.

“Adult stem cells can divide or self-renew indefinitely, enabling them to generate a range of cell types from the originating organ or even regenerate the entire original organ.”

Imagine that. We can use our own stem cells from our own bodies to help heal ourselves from the different challenges in our bodies. And, Peter Nygard has developed a new mission focused on Adult stem cells to help do this:

“Mr. Nygard has recruited global medical leaders to join him in his new prime mission and he is building a world-class medical facility in the Bahamas where this amazing technology will be employed to change the way we deal with disease and enhance the longevity of Mankind.” (NygardBiotech.com)

This is the vision we have stopped with our insensible outrage. How foolish we look when we allow our lack of knowledge to lead us to imprudently reject things that are in our own best interest.

So, why would we shoot ourselves in the foot, cut off our noses to spite our faces, and reject Nygard’s $100 Million Stem Cell Medical Facility that would bring countless jobs and countless medical tourists to The Bahamas that could truly boost our economy?

This discussion will be continued.