Safeguarding patients against stem cell tourism

摘要

The globalisation of health care1 has exposed patients to novel treatments they may never have previously encountered, such as stem cell therapy. The practice is for the most part illegal in the UK, but the proliferation of stem cell clinics in countries such as India, China, Mexico, and Germany, and their subsequent marketing efforts has attracted 'stem cell tourists' — patients in search of a cure for their illness. The lack of clinical evidence to support stem cell therapy puts patients at risk of receiving at best ineffective,2 and at worst unsafe or even harmful treatments,3 raising calls for a campaign to raise awareness and educate patients about these dangers.