Stem Cell Exploitation

Hundreds of clinics have sprung up, primarily in developing countries, claiming to provide “effective, routine, and low-risk” stem cell therapies to cure nearly any disease imaginable. Similarly, cosmetics, such as facial creams and serums, as well as liquid oral supplements and capsules, have flooded the marketplace, claiming to provide antiaging effects by enhancing stem cell production. This proliferation of stem-cell-based products and therapies during the past five years has left government agencies around the world struggling to develop or modify regulations to better deal with the nascent technology. The problem is getting worse, observers say, as more and more desperate people travel abroad seeking unproven, possibly dangerous, stem cell treatments for serious diseases. What makes the situation especially confusing for people is that thousands of legitimate stem cell therapies are in clinical trials across the globe. These trials are registered with oversight bodies, and patients are monitored pos...