Ask many questions and if you aren’t convinced, then don’t do it. You should bring at least that level of intensity (ideally much more) to getting info about stem cell transplants too as the stakes are even higher. Be skeptical. I often tell people to think about how much research and how many questions they ask when looking to get a new car. Patients often mention to me that the doctors offering stem cell treatments told them that the treatments are proven safe….or that your own stem cells cannot harm you…or that adult stem cells are harmless. There’s no science behind that kind of claim. You should start getting worried if the clinic tells you that one kind of stem cell such as fat, bone marrow, or amniotic stem cells can treat many different conditions. When a doctor offers to inject some kind of stem cells into a patient either into the bloodstream or into a specific place that is injured such as a shoulder, we just do not know at this point if it will do any good with the exception of bone marrow transplant.
I am as excited as anybody about the potential of stem cells to treat a whole bunch of diseases and injuries, but they are not some kind of miracle cure for everything. can offer advanced medical treatments and these days many American patients get their stem cell transplants here in the U.S. We have to avoid the trap of thinking that only the U.S. guiding you, preferably your primary care doctor who mot often are not going to buy into hype. Whether you travel abroad or closer to home, have a knowledgeable physician inside the U.S. for a stem cell treatment, use extra caution, but in 2021 also be very careful inside the U.S. being both homologous use and minimally manipulated–yeah I know these are jargon terms).
Best stem cell treatment center in usa trial#
The exceptions to this are if it is part of an FDA-approved clinical trial or it is using stem cells in a procedure that meets other criteria (e.g. What this means is that any other stem cell treatment you see advertised on Facebook or Google or elsewhere that indicates it will be given to you inside the U.S. consists of versions of cord blood/bone marrow/hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. 3) The only stem cell treatment explicitly OK with the FDA for use in the U.S. A common statement is “The only risk is that it won’t work.” That’s false. Sometimes clinics will either on their websites or in person acknowledge risks almost as sort of a disclaimer, but then they’ll tell more casually that there aren’t really any risks. They are either woefully lacking in knowledge or aren’t being honest with you. Different kinds of stem cells have variable risk profiles, but if someone tells you that the stem cell treatment they are selling has no risks then that is a big red flag and I would walk away. One hopes that the side effects will be relatively mild, but it’s hard to predict. Like any medical product, even aspirin, stem cell therapies will have side effects. This can be helpful or harmful, but the big point is that it is not something that is controllable or reversible. Also because stem cells are alive they can grow inside your body, move around, and change. What this means is if the stem cells are doing bad things your doctor has no way to stop it. Unlike other traditional chemical drugs, once a patient receives a stem cell drug, it will not necessarily simply go away like other drugs because a stem cell drug consists of living cells that often behave in unpredictable ways. The FDA considers them drugs in many cases. Stem cells can be extremely unusual drugs, but they are often drugs even if some argue they aren’t. What is stem cell therapy and key facts you need to know? 1) Stem cells are often essentially a type of drug and possibly permanent in your body after a transplant.
I am speaking as a scientist, patient advocate and cancer survivor in the form of 10 key realties list below to help you guide your way through the jungle of stuff out there about stem cells.Īs mentioned above, I have now updated this post as some things have changed in big ways in just the past few years.
So in this patient guide post I want to address this need for trustworthy factual information and no-nonsense perspectives.
Too often the info that is out there is either wrong, partially misleading, biased, or overly complex. These folks understandably are using the Internet to look for some clear, good info on stem cell treatments either for themselves or their loved ones. I know there are thousands of people out there looking for more practical information about stem cell therapies and treatments.