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Hub Couple Donates $6M for Stem Cell Research
Boston Herald
14 March 2005
A prominent Bay State developer and his wife are giving $6 million to a Hub hospital for stem cell research, one of the largest donations ever bestowed on Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
The donation, given by Stephen R. and Roberta Weiner, was to be unveiled last night at an annual hospital fund-raiser in Palm Beach, Fla.
It is one of the three largest donations in the hospital's history, officials said.
The money will fund a "pioneering concept," said Carl Sloane, chairman of the hospital's board of directors. The donation will be used for a program focused on stem cell research and on finding novel means to deliver stem cell therapy through minimally invasive surgical techniques, Sloane said.
"The question of how you get stem cells to where they are needed is not automatic or easy," said Sloane, who added the Weiners wanted "to make a difference."
While federal and state funding of stem cell research is constricted, Sloane said the private funding "can make a double difference."
"It has enormous promise to relieve suffering and extend lives and yet the climate for investment is limited, so private fundings become extraordinarily important," Sloane said.
The hospital's Department of Surgery will be named after the Weiners, who live in both Boston and Palm Beach.
Founder of S.R. Weiner & Associates, Stephen Weiner's current projects include the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Residences at the Prudential Center.
The couple have long been associated with Beth Israel Hospital and are active supporters of the arts, education and health care.
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