Authorities cracking down on unapproved stem cell “miracle” treatments

Authorities have reportedly been conducting investigations and raiding health clinics that purport to offer “miracle treatments” using stem cells.

Since the discovery of stem cell techniques, doctors and researchers have been overjoyed to use such procedures for regenerative medicine, with stem cells often extracted from bone marrow, blood and fat. However, there are reportedly a small number of institutions who have taken the opportunity to allegedly exploit eager patients by offering “unproven and potentially dangerous treatments” involving stem cell techniques.

Crackdowns on expensive “miracle” treatments

In a bid to crackdown on what may amount to fraudulent “miracle treatment”, authorities are reportedly taking action against two large clinics and a large biotech company. In their investigations, the agency reportedly found unapproved treatment that involved patients receiving liposuction to extract belly fat to pick out stem cells inside fat.

These cells are then being injected back into the patient to “cure” diseases and problems, with procedures costing around £7,000.00; which may often be seen as a small price to pay to cure horrendous diseases and ailments.

Shocking discoveries uncovered

One company that authorities raided was reportedly found to have used the smallpox vaccine to treat cancer patients! These cancer patients were seriously ill and were likely to have sought this expensive yet possibly entirely ineffective treatment as a last resort.

Treatments like these can be incredibly dangerous, especially considering the patients’ vulnerable state.

Authorities were also concerned as to how the company managed to get their hands on the smallpox to create their treatments in the first place. They discovered that the clinic had reportedly misled suppliers when they had requested strains of the contagious and potentially lethal disease apparently for “research”. They reportedly never told anyone they would be injecting the smallpox vaccines into their patients.

Public health actors and organisations are pleased that authorities are finally doing something but some have criticised why the delay to take action. One medical journal reported almost half a year ago of cases where patients became blind or suffered permanent severe eye damage after receiving doses of stem cell injections into their eyes.

The dangers of private treatments

In recent years, we have seen a huge increase in victims of private treatments come forward asking for our help to claim for medical negligence. Treatment providers can pop up in the high street offering all sorts of pricey procedures – sometimes carried out by unqualified staff who are using untested and/or unverified forms of treatment.

There has been a huge increase in a societal need for the perfect look and the perfect body, which has led many to fall victim to private practitioners using potentially dangers forms of treatment. On top of that,  when the struggling public health service appears to abandon the desperately ill who then place their hope in the hands of private practitioners offering so-called “miracle treatments”, you can see how things can go so easily wrong.

Whether it’s a lack of qualified staff and/or the use of unverified treatment, the dangers are not always properly relayed to the patients. On top of that, some of these clinics and businesses are not even properly insured.

More awareness is needed of the dangers, and people must always remain vigilant. The sad truth is that there are some people we are unable to help when they have fallen victim to private procedures because of the lack of regulation and lack of insurance.