His Son Paralyzed, An Advocate Is Born

His involvement with stem cells sprang from a tragedy—but stem cell research and advocacy quickly became his life’s passion. Don Reed is now known by many as “The Grandfather of Stem Cell Research.” He has been an advocate for the advancement of stem cell and medical research for decades.

Don’s son, Roman Reed, became paralyzed in a college football accident at the age of 19.

“It was the worst day of our family’s life: September 10, 1994,” says Don. “Our son Roman was playing middle linebacker in a college football game. On the third play of the fourth quarter, he dived in to make one more tackle. He disappeared under a pile of bodies. Everybody else got up and walked back to the sidelines, but he did not.”

“My son disappeared under a pile of bodies. Everybody else got up and walked back to the sidelines, but he did not.”

“His neck was broken,” says Don. “The doctors told us he was paralyzed from the shoulders down, and would remain so for the rest of his life.”

But that wasn’t where the story ended. “Roman is not one for giving up,” Don declares. Roman’s injury set their family on a quest for cure, for something—anything—to help Roman walk again.

In 1999, Don and Roman passed the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act. “Roman’s Law” raised $17 million in California State funding, attracting an additional $85 million from the National Institutes of Health and other sources. Don remembers March 1, 2002—the Opening Day of the Roman Reed Lab—when he held in his hands a laboratory rat named Fighter, that had been paralyzed but, after receiving a stem cell therapy, was able to move again.

Roman’s injury set their family on a quest for cure, for something—anything—to help him walk again.

That day, Christopher Reeve, the paralyzed Superman, spoke to Don and Roman on the telephone. “Oh, to be a rat this day!” Reeve reflected in amazement.

Neither a scientist nor a doctor, Don knows firsthand the dramatic change that patient advocates can bring about—from his work as a grassroots organizer for America’s first pro-stem cell research legislation, Senate Bill 253 (Ortiz), to his integral work on the campaign for Proposition 71, the California ballot initiative that invested $3 billion in stem cell research, serving on its Board of Directors. He is a Founding Board Member of Americans for Cures.

Don and Roman spoke to Christopher Reeve, the paralyzed Superman, who said of the paralyzed rat that could move again thanks to stem cell therapy, “Oh, to be a rat this day!”

Don urges other advocates to stand up and fight for treatments and cures. “As patient advocates, we can study up, ask questions, and speak our minds. We can support legislation that funds medical research that could save our loved ones, and we can oppose legislation that threatens the advancement of science. We can take action. Above all, we cannot sit idly by.  If a wrong decision is made, it is our future at stake.”

Don’s most recent book, STEM CELL BATTLES: Proposition 71 and Beyond, was published by World Scientific Publishing, a leading international academic publisher of 46 volumes of Nobel Prize lectures in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace and Economics. A prolific writer, Reed has published more than 200 articles in the Huffington Post alone.