If there is a greater champion of stem cell research than Don Reed, I have yet to meet them. Don is extraordinary in his knowledge about (the California stem cell program) and his commitment to advancing the work that we do. His relentless determination is one of the reasons CIRM exists and that we are able to help advance the field here in California.

When Don’s son Roman Reed was left paralyzed after a football accident, Don did what any parent would do, trying everything possible to find a treatment that would help Roman walk again. But Don has done so much more than that. Today he fights for every parent to have a therapy they can offer their child, for everyone to be able to help someone they love.

Don has been on the front lines in the fight for stem cell research as long as there has been a fight. He has been one of the key figures in helping ensure California has become a global leader in this research, and his books documenting the story of CIRM are also invaluable history lessons in how ordinary people are leading the charge to change the face of medicine as we know it.

Don Reed is a force of nature whose leadership role as a patient advocate was instrumental in the formation of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), an organization devoted to accelerating stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. As a patient advocate, he reminds us that we have no time to waste in converting science to medicine for patients battling devastating conditions. As a science advocate, he is a “patient investor” respecting that good medicine is based on good science and that good science takes time. In his books, he tells the story of CIRM, the unique partnership between patients and stem cell researchers. We look forward to future editions where the story will further unfold, including patients whose lives were transformed because of this unique partnership.