SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2008 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 95
Celebrating the life of Dr. Milton Ende, stem cell research pioneer.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 11, 2008
Agreed to by the Senate, January 17, 2008

 

WHEREAS, Dr. Milton Ende, eminent scholar, and one of the world's earliest pioneers in stem cell research, was called to glory on June 27, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Milton Ende was born in New York City and was a lifelong resident of Petersburg, where he practiced medicine for over 50 years until his death; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Milton Ende was educated at the University of Richmond where he received his undergraduate degree and, afterward, he earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia; and

WHEREAS, after getting his medical degree and serving his country honorably as a medical officer in the United States Army during World War II, Dr. Milton Ende set up private practice in 1950 on Sycamore Street in Petersburg, and a few years later, he moved his office to South Market Street where he practiced until his death; and

WHEREAS, during his many years of medical practice in Petersburg, Dr. Milton Ende established the first hemodialysis unit in the area, was instrumental in bringing advanced cardiac life support to the rescue squads in the Tri-Cities Area, performed research in the late 1960s on using umbilical cord blood for the treatment of leukemia, and was the first physician to utilize umbilical cord blood to obtain a bone marrow transplant, a significant medical breakthrough that has paved the way for stem cell research since that time; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Milton Ende oversaw several other Petersburg health care firsts, including practicing psychiatry, blood dialysis, offering alcohol dependency treatment, and organizing and training the first emergency response crews; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Milton Ende, a compassionate physician who was ahead of his time, focused his attention exclusively on his patients and his practice, occasionally caring for patients at his home, and continued to make house calls long after this form of practice had ended; and

WHEREAS, during the 1960s, before the discovery of stem cells, contemplating how he could help his terminal leukemia patients and why newborns rarely got cancer, Dr. Milton Ende hypothesized that something in babies’ blood kept them healthy, and he reasoned that a transfusion of newborn blood from discarded umbilical cords would help his terminal cancer patients; and

WHEREAS, working collaboratively with his brother, Dr. Norman Ende of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, an outstanding pathologist, Dr. Milton Ende conducted revolutionary research for over 40 years on the therapeutic benefits of umbilical stem cells; and in 1966, he injected umbilical-cord blood into 17 cancer patients, who were not cured of cancer but improved and lived longer than expected; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Milton Ende continued his unchartered research in 1970 by injecting umbilical cord blood into a 16-year-old boy with acute leukemia, who also received chemotherapy, and his patient lived for one year, far longer than anyone expected; and

WHEREAS, in 1972, together with his brother, Dr. Milton Ende published the case in The Virginia Medical Monthly and they continued their unheralded research, despite little funding, the routine rejection of their articles by the major medical journals, and the disregard for the significance of their pioneering research; and

WHEREAS, during the 1980s, scientists began to discover the regenerative properties of stem cells and with the ensuing controversy over embryonic stem cells, when his work with stem cells from umbilical cord blood was mischaracterized as work with adult stem cells, Dr. Milton Ende named the cells “Berashis” or “in-the-beginning” cells to distinguish umbilical cord stem cells from adult stem cells; and

WHEREAS, after laboring in obscurity with his brother for decades, Dr. Ende was just beginning to win recognition for his groundbreaking work, upon which medical explorers can build to seek cures for cancer and other fatal and debilitating diseases; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Milton Ende had a special rapport with his patients and practiced medicine with a “personal touch” as portrayed by Marcus Welby, M.D., and his legacy of compassionate medical care is being continued by his sons at the medical practice he established long ago on South Market Street; and

WHEREAS, the loving memory of Dr. Milton Ende and his devotion, perseverance, and sacrifice for the betterment of mankind will be treasured by his sons, family, friends, and patients, and by the people of the City of Petersburg; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Dr. Milton Ende, eminent scholar, compassionate physician, and pioneer in stem cell research; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Dr. Milton Ende as an expression of the respect and gratitude the General Assembly holds for his revolutionary contributions to the field of medicine and the people of this Commonwealth and the world.