Docs seek stop to expensive, experimental stem cell therapy

By Philip C. Tubeza Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, PhilippinesSaying that doctors were exacting exorbitant fees for what is still experimental medicine, the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) launched Tuesday an online petition urging the Department of Health (DOH) to put a stop to experimental stem cell therapies in the country.

Human stem cell therapy for unproven indications is proliferating in the Philippines and posing serious safety issues to unknowing Filipinos The Philippine College of Physicians is alarmed by the false claims, misinformation and exorbitant fees for such stem cell treatments, read the petition on http://www.change.org.

The PCP urged the DOH to issue a cease and desist order to all doctors performing such therapies as the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) clarified that stem cell therapy was not covered by the governments universal healthcare program.

Cease and desist

We, the undersigned, call on the (DOH) to issue a cease and desist order to all doctors, clinics and hospitals that [offer] human stem cell therapy for unproven indications until scientific evidence to support claims of efficacy and safety are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it said.

The PCP, the umbrella organization of Internal Medicine specialists in the country, said that transplanting human blood-forming stem cells to treat cancerous and noncancerous diseases of the blood was the most widely accepted clinical application of stem cell therapy.

The effectiveness and safety of human stem cell therapy has yet to be proven for heart, neurologic, skin, rheumatologic and gastrointestinal diseases, diabetes, hypertension, autism, cancer, aging and aesthetics, HIV/AIDS and other conditions, the group said.

Lack of evidence

Despite the lack of solid scientific evidence to support the [application] of human stem cell therapy for these conditions, reports of its use precisely for these conditions being received and exorbitant fees being paid by prominent personalities abound in media, the PCP said.

Follow this link:
Docs seek stop to expensive, experimental stem cell therapy