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Local Veterinarian Takes Stem Cell Work Around The Globe

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – There is an old saying that, "It's hard to keep a good man down." In this case, it's hard to keep a good man home.

A local veterinarian has been traveling the world teaching other vets about his work with stem cells.

"Everybody wants to learn about stem cells. It truly is a new paradigm where we are taking the body's own -- we are taking it from fat and taking their own adult stem cells and helping them repair things like arthritis, horrible fractures, liver disease, kidney disease. We are using it for all kinds of applications now and everyone wants to learn about it," Dr. Mike Hutchinson from Animal General said.

Dr. Hutchinson's knowledge on the topic has taken him around the world.

"Sydney, Australia I really enjoyed. Chile in South America I really liked. It was a really nice place. I enjoyed Japan. Beijing -- I had never been to China before -- Hong Kong. Actually, I like all of these places. It's fun to be there for the first time," Dr. Hutchinson said.

He's made several trips to the Middle East to talk with sheiks about their camels.

"They race them. They have them as pets. They have them as show animals. It's part of their culture. The camel to them is like the Bald Eagle is to us. It's very important to their heritage. They really care for them and they are willing to spend money to help them if they have severe arthritis or if they are ill," Dr. Hutchinson said.

Trips include lectures to local vets and in some cases, demonstrations on how to extract fat from the animals to purifying stem cells. Some vets insist on coming to the states to watch Dr. Hutchinson work in his Cranberry Township office.

"But I say, "No. You can to do this." This is easier than a spay, and it really is. It's within the skill set of every veterinarian around the world. It's within the skill set of the technicians to process this fat after we take it out and harvest these stem cells," Dr. Hutchinson said.

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