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Kang Won-rae, 36, a singer who has been paralyzed from the waist down due to spinal cord injury suffered in a traffic accident five years ago, was unexpectedly calm after hearing that Prof. Hwang woo-suk has succeeded in making matching stem cells from a patient who also suffered a spinal cord injury.
But Kang did not take part. "I'd told Dr. Hwang that I didn't want to be a test subject,¡± he said. ¡°In fact, with interest in stem cells on the rise, there are too many people going around trying to delude paraplegics into believing in pointless treatment, and this worries me." He recounted several instances of fraud happening to those around him, including one patient who was told if he went to China, he could get a stem cell transplant and walk again.
Kang and Hwang's paths crossed when the singer went to a stem cell research meeting in April last year. Hwang also gave lectures with Skywheel, an online group of disabled people Kang is a member of. Since then, the two have built a friendship and frequently call each other.
Hwang publicly said last year he was moved by a letter Kang had written asking for help so he could walk again, and has said his research results would help patients like Kang. "That Hwang's research gave patients like us even a fraction of hope is a great joy,¡± Kang said. ¡°I hope the research goes without snags."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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