Stem Cell Therapies, Patient Consumers and Law – A Critical Analysis

Abstract

“The regenerative medicine revolution is upon us. Like iron and steel to the industrial revolution like the microchip to the tech revolution, stem cells will be the driving for this next revolution”- Cade Hildreth

The ‘advent of novel technologies’ in medical field are scrutinized through the lens of morality, ethics, necessity, efficiency, cost and cure ratio etc., stem cell industry does not fall an exception to it. Though Right to Health care is a Human Right, it is point of concern that in the process of availing that Right  Ethical, Legal and Human right violations have to be borne by the “patient Consumers” to seek cure. The eye-catching advertisements, Taglines, success stories in televisions, social media platforms lure the public to undergo stem cell therapies and treatments. But the other side of the story is that 90% of the treatments and therapies are not proved and there are known and unknown risks to the people who undergo these services. Especially in case of the Stem cell therapy centers the patients  have filed suits for deficiency in services, failure for non-disclosure of side effects, physical loss of body parts or even life. This raises a question of concern whether the treatment of patients have become more consumer centric rather than patient centric in the current scenario.

This article discusses  the concern of  mistreatment of the “Patient Consumers” and  the need to address the concerns of Exploitation,  fake clinics, unapproved/ unregulated  stem cell therapies at the earliest .  The article also discusses on the existing U.S Regulation and Indian Regulations and emphasizes the need to fill the Regulatory vacuum to address the concerns of the “Patient Consumers” and the immediate need  to  peg the  holes in  the course of availing stem cell treatments .