Cheaper cost of stem cell treatment attracts more patients to Asia

Increased restrictions on funding of stem cell research in the United States has forced many Americans to seek international medical treatment for their various ailments in developing countries.

According to a website www.placidway.com: "The potential cost of stem cell therapies in the U.S. may be prohibitive expense, which encourages those hoping and seeking cures for illnesses, injuries and disease ;processes to travel to China, Thailand, Japan, Europe, and India, among others."

The website said the cost of therapies is determined according to geographic location of treatment facilities as well as the injury, illness or disease being treated. "Because such treatments have not yet been approved in the U.S., medical travelers are cautioned to do their homework and study human stem cell therapy, treatments and protocols and examine the history as well as case studies in foreign destinations."

To date, the U.S. has approved funding for Phase I clinical trials of some types of stem cell therapies that may provide productive and beneficial use in
the near future, it added.

But just how fast it has gathered momentum in developing nations, negative reactions from some sectors have begun to crop up in the midst of reports that some medical clinics and hospitals in the developing countries are not fully certified to administer stem cell treatment to patients suffering from serious ailments.

While it is not widely accepted across the United States, stem cell treatment is already being practiced in Germany and other parts of Europe.

In fact, Regenerative Science, Inc. in Colorado was restricted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to stop treating patients with their own adult stem cells, says Deborah Leader, a registered nurse, in her report at About.com.

"And, while the FDA is busy banning stem cell research in the USA, many patients with COPD and other health conditions are forced to go to other countries to get treatment, a practice that has many patients angry and frustrated," she said.

Stem cell advocates believe that there is no better way to treat disease than enhancing the bodies own natural ability to heal itself, Leader added.
"They also believe that the FDA is overstepping its authority and has no business trying to regulate stem cell treatment, and, are doing so in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies as a matter of self-interest," she explained.

But how is stem cell treatment administered?

"Stem cell treatments are a type of cell therapy that introduce new cells into adult bodies for possible treatment of cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders and other medical conditions," says Wikipedia.

Other procedures are used to repair tissue damaged by disease or age. "Cloning also might be done with stem cells. Pluripotent stem cells can also be derived from Somatic cell nuclear transfer which is a laboratory technique where a clone embryo is created from a donor nucleus."

With President Obama's issuance of an executive order that lifted the ban for federal funding on embryonic stem cell research,  many scientists and researchers; doctors and innovators, have high hopes that  will make America a world leader in stem cell research.