China does not want to be known as the Wild West of unproven medical technologies. Last year, the government took an important step when it announced regulations requiring, among other things, that anyone who offers stem-cell procedures should present clinical data supporting their efficacy, and secure approval from the health ministry (see Nature 459,146; 2009).rnSuch regulations are sorely needed. A leading bioethicist in China last year estimated that more than 100 laboratories there offer stem-cell procedures, many of them unproven, although some clinics reportedly stopped offering the treatments after the regulations took effect.
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