Chinese Offer Unproved “Cure”

January 6, 2008

So many “promising” signs in the stem cell research so far produced zero cures when it come to destroying embryos. Using adults stem cells is far more promising, but as of today there is decease that have been cured. There is an interesting article on Yahoo News about these unproven treatments offered by Chinese doctors:

They’re paralyzed from diving accidents and car crashes, disabled by Parkinson’s, or blind. With few options available at home in America, they search the Internet for experimental treatments — and often land on Web sites promoting stem cell treatments in China.

They mortgage their houses and their hometowns hold fundraisers as they scrape together the tens of thousands of dollars needed for travel and the hope for a miracle cure.

The article can be enlightening for those considering such treatments abroad. However there is another side to this story. If they are using embryos to get the stem cells, Chinese might be destroying embryos in hundreds or even thousands. For some reason, when talking about embryonic research we mistakenly think that just one embryo can deliver the “cure”. In fact it can take 15-20 embryos to produce a single strain of stem cells.

Posted by Vlad in Embryonic Research, Stem Cell Research