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KMID : 1377020140110010001
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Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
2014 Volume.11 No. 1 p.1 ~ p.9
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The global industry for unproven stem cell interventions and stem cell tourism
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Dominique S. McMahon
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Abstract
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Stem cells have been heralded as a potential treatment for a wide range of diseases and injuryies, but the development of treatments is still only in initial stages, with most applications not yet demonstrating strong clinical benefit. In the interim, the sale of unproven stem cell interventions has developed into a global industry. Patients pay for stem cell interventions for a multitude of indications prior to evidence of their safety or efficacy, promised benefits beyond what the medical literature can substantiate. This review describes the characteristics of the global stem cell industry, including the types of interventions offered, the location and regulatory environment in which unproven treatments stem cell interventions are sold, and the mechanisms uses to access patients and distribute treatments interventions. This paper finds stem cell tourism to be a subset of what may be a much larger industry for stem cell interventions. Stem cell interventions may be appropriate in exceptional circumstances for small numbers of patients. However, the widespread use of unproven stem cell interventions does not create the empirical evidence to qualify as research, nor provides the assurance of medical benefits to qualify as treatment, creating ethical and regulatory challenges for both patient care and the development safe and efficacious stem cell treatments.
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KEYWORD
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unproven treatments, stem cell tourism, stem cells, stem cell treatment
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