Jennifer Matthews: The pulpit is Eugene Carter's home away from home.

Rev. Eugene Carter: I start the day being thankful for the day and realizing it is a blessing.

Jennifer Matthews: Last February, Eugene needed his faith when he had a heart attack.

Rev. Eugene Carter: I believe that anything that comes my way is there for a reason.

Jennifer Matthews: So when doctors asked him to be in a study on stem cells just days after his heart attack, he said yes.

Dr. Gary Schaer: The promise of stem cells is the promise that these cells could be given to grow new parts of the body that have been damaged.

Jennifer Matthews: Doctor Gary Schaer and colleagues are giving heart attack patients stem cells from a healthy adult donor. The cells are delivered through an IV. Once infused, they zero in on damaged heart muscle and repair it.

Stem cells have shown great promise in fixing damaged heart muscle in animals. Here's a slice of a pig's heart after a heart attack. Here's one treated with stem cells.

Dr. Gary Schaer: I have been doing this for a little more than 20 years, and this is the most exciting new development in a very exciting field.

Jennifer Matthews: Studies have shown using a patient's own stem cells can treat heart failure. Doctor Schaer says using a donor's stem cells to treat heart attacks is a new frontier.

Eugene feels lucky to be part of the study.

Rev. Eugene Carter: What an opportunity to do something positive.

Jennifer Matthews: And he says if the treatment helps, he'll have even more to preach about. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.