UNITED STATES – As reported in an online news article published by www.upi.com, a study uncovers the problems and dangers associated with unregulated stem cell clinics, finding that many patients have suffered injuries or illnesses. A recently published study shows that unregulated stem cell clinics throughout the United States have been linked to many injuries […]
Stem cell clinics
UNITED STATES – As reported in an online news article published by www.upi.com, a study uncovers the problems and dangers associated with unregulated stem cell clinics, finding that many patients have suffered injuries or illnesses.
A recently published study shows that unregulated stem cell clinics throughout the United States have been linked to many injuries and illnesses. Such clinics are operated by various types of healthcare providers including, among others, medical doctors (including M.D.’s and D.O.’s), chiropractors, and naturopaths. Some stem cell clinics offer a wide variety of services that claim to “cure” many different ailments, while other clinics focus on specific health issues.
Many stem cell clinics have not been through the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval process to evaluate the safety and efficacy of stem cell treatments through systematic testing. The FDA often issues warning letters when medical treatment, pharmaceutical drugs, and medical devices pose a risk of harm to patients.
In November of 2018, the FDA issued a warning letter to Genetech, a San Diego-based stem cell clinic “after a dozen patients in three states were hospitalized with serious bacterial infections after receiving injections of umbilical cord blood purportedly containing stem cells. The products were tainted with E. coli and other dangerous bacteria.”
Another concern expressed about unregulated stem cell clinics is that the stem cell formulations “are likely not offering treatments that consist of pure stem cells….The clinics usually don’t make much information available on their websites, but the typical methods they mention for extracting and preparing the most common types of treatments offer don’t result in pure preparations of stem cells.”
Individuals interested in stem cell therapy are encouraged to steer clear of clinics that market stem cell treatments for multiple diseases and clinics that claim they can cure particular ailments.
