Stem Cell Quacks Taking Advantage of the Ill

I have posted stories like this before, but it bears frequent repeating: Stem cell research—even of the ethical kind such as adult and umbilical cord blood stem cells—remains, with some exceptions, at the formative stage. Yes, there are exciting early human trials ongoing, many of which are showing much promise. But the key word here is “early.” Not only do scientists have to find out whether these potential therapies can work, but they also have to design proper therapeutic courses of treatment. This takes time and there are no shortcuts.

The story linked above describes how scam artists are taking advantage of ill people by allegedly charging tens of thousands of dollars to inject them with stem cells, leaving some of the patients worse off than before. In an era of potentially exciting medical breakthroughs, quackery is an ever present danger.

I often hear from desperate people wanting to take advantage of the “new” stem cell treatments. My advice to them, as it is here, is to be patient. Ethical regenerative medicine offers much hope. But it isn’t here, yet. But there is no substitute for doing the slow and grueling science required to ensure that it is safe and to learn how to provide the best effect with the fewest side effects. In other words, if an overseas stem cell protocol seems to good to be true, it probably is. Or to put it another way, be careful out there.