Rogue clinics selling stem cell therapies are popping up everywhere. There are thousands of them around the world, and they claim to be able to cure everything from autism to cerebral palsy. The highest concentration of stem cell therapy clinics is in the US, Mexico and China. And people are travelling far and wide to get these treatments, leading to a phenomenon known as stem cell tourism.
How stem cells work?
Some parts of the human body have the remarkable ability to repair themselves and replace lost or damaged cells. For instance, the human skin renews itself entirely every four weeks, while it takes around four months for all red blood cells to be fully replenished. Unfortunately, some organs are less efficient or unable to repair themselves. This self-repair or regeneration is a primary function of stem cells. Unlike other cells in our body, stem cells have the unique ability to transform into different types of cells, each serving a specific function. In addition to their role in replacing specialised cells, all stem cells contribute to the self-healing of cells and organs by releasing beneficial substances stored in small lipid droplets called extracellular vesicles.
Loophole
In the EU and the UK, unethical stem cell clinics are taking advantage of a regulatory loophole. If stem cells aren’t modified in any way after they’re extracted and then re-inserted into a person, these procedures fall outside the regulations for so-called advanced therapy medicinal products.
As a result of this lack of regulation, there is no standard quality control – if there is any quality control at all. Consequently, the effectiveness and safety of stem cell therapies cannot be guaranteed. To persuade potential customers that their stem cell injections work, many of these businesses avoid referring to reliable scientific evidence.
