Handwerk, 1
Logan Handwerk
24 July 2014
Kristin Messuri
English 015
You’re Going Where?
Mary Ruta was 17 years old and looking forward to ending her senior year of high
school. She was smart, talented and popular. Mary was heading off to The Pennsylvania State
University in the fall in pursuit of a premedical degree, but all that changed when she was
diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. It spread to her brain and lungs, and treatment could give her
maybe an extra two months. With denial running rampant she spent the next three days on the
computer trying to look up ways to cure cancer. She stumbled upon an advertisement for a
doctor in Amsterdam that was offering a stem cell treatment that could cure any stage of breast
cancer, but is it safe? This question haunts the minds of many of the terminally ill. Every day,
people are coerced into undergoing overseas stem cell treatments by being given a false sense of
hope and being blinded to the potential dangers, but all people should avoid such treatments.
Stem cell therapy is an extremely new and developing method of treatment around the
world. Scientists and doctors are still trying to figure out how to use stem cells safely and
effectively. They do know for sure that they are rapidly dividing cells found in our bodies that
can turn into any other cell. They are a medical phenomenon; doctors have never seen anything
like it before. For example, an experiment is occurring where stem cells from human embryos
are placed on the cornea of patients with poor vision (Brooks). It is an FDA regulated experiment
occurring in the United States. The stem cells can be monitored and removed easily due to the
location on the cornea. Experimental treatments like these are valid because they are being
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closely watched by some of the best doctors in the country. They are able to make judgment calls
based solely on the health of the patient as opposed to money.
Contrary to these risky procedures, stem cells can have some valid, safe uses. In the
United States, the FDA regulates all stem cells because of their high level of danger if used
improperly. There is currently only one product approved by the FDA that contains stem cells,
but they are used in various procedures in the United States. For example, stem cells are found in
bone marrow, which often gets transplanted for leukemia patients (“FDA Warns About Stem
Cell Claims”). Bone marrow transplants are fairly routine, although it is still very painful. I
remember when I was younger, I along with my whole family had my bone marrow tested to see
if it matched with that of my uncle who was diagnosed with leukemia. Unfortunately, none of us
matched his type, so he could not receive the transplant, but the cancer still went into remission
through radiation and chemotherapy. Had one of us been able to donate, the newly introduced
stem cells in the bone marrow would have been able to regenerate quickly and divide rapidly so
that my Uncle’s marrow would have been given a sort of kick-start. This procedure has been
around for many years, and is approved by the FDA.
Unlike procedures that have been regulated by the FDA, there are many other countries
around the world with doctors performing stem cell treatments that have had neither trials nor
observed benefits. Because the FDA does not regulate these procedures, one is unable to ensure
its safety. Still, people are driven by promises of recovery; we cannot blame these patients
though, because who would not take any risk possible to get his or her life back? Many overseas
doctors give a false sense of hope to people that are suffering from terminal illnesses. They tell
them that they can get their whole lives back, maybe even better than before. Unfortunately,
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people are roped into these schemes and tend to ignore the very long list of dangers and side
effects.
There are many more scammers out there than one might think, though. People are much
more willing to believe someone when their life is on the line, so they hand over tens of
thousands of dollars for illegal treatments. One instance of this was in Houston, Texas, where
Lawrence Stowe advertised a cure for diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and
Parkinson’s. He charged one man fifty thousand dollars for his treatment involving stem cell
therapy and other unapproved drugs, but the man later died (Glenn). It can be extremely easy and
tempting to take advantage of people when they are in a fragile and vulnerable state, but it does
not make it right.
The worst of these cases take place outside of the United States. Stem Cell Tourism is a
term that refers to going abroad to seek stem cell treatment; main destinations are Malaysia,
Singapore, China, Japan and Thailand (Edelstein and Holmes). There is no regulation of these
treatments because they are very controversial. The embryonic stem cells need to be extracted
from the blood of an umbilical cord, and often the fetus must be aborted. Because of this, the
treatments are done in unsafe conditions including but not limited to hotel rooms, homes and
businesses (Zaidi). Moreover, there are few, if any, leads to show that the treatments work. For
example, Australian scientists charged victims of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s up to nine
thousand dollars for stem cell treatments that had no effect on the disease. The stem cells were
not even embryonic but instead taken from the body fat of the patients (Scott and Branley). Cells
from body fat have no benefit like stem cells, and a simple relocation of them cannot cure the
diseases that these people had. The patients in this scenario were not even aware what they were
being injected with. The dangers in this scandal are just as bad as buying drugs off the streets.
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There is no regulation, so the treatment could have anything in it, and the patient would never
know. It could contain arsenic, illicit drugs, or even allergens that the patient was not made
aware of.
In order to prevent people from resorting to stem cell tourism, the United States
government should redirect funds to learn more about stem cell treatments. They are currently
seen as nearly magical cells because they can turn into any other cell in the body, so why are we
as a country not devoting more resources to them? Stem cells could allegedly cure cancer,
multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, blindness, etc. America has combatted infectious disease, which
is a high killer in underdeveloped countries, so now it is time to take a stand against other
illnesses that cause death. Victims of life-threatening diseases cannot be given the autonomy to
make decisions with complete rationality because they will most likely do anything they can to
survive. As humans, it is our basic instinct to put survival above all other things, so we could not
consider all the risks when the possible reward is life. This has nothing to do with personal
strengths and weaknesses, but instead it shows that we are still human at the end of the day. We
make mistakes and rash decisions, but that is our nature.
Overseas stem cell treatments are not only costly and risky, but they are extremely
dangerous. There is no regulation of stem cells outside of the United States, and there is simply
not enough knowledge for one to be sure that stem cells are safe or not. Illegal and unregulated
stem cell therapies have taken not only the lives but also the entire life savings of many people.
Curious, or just plain greedy, individuals took advantage of them while they were in a highly
vulnerable mental state. Looking beyond the ethical question, our government could potentially
correct this problem by focusing more research into stem cells purely to find out more about
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them and stop the questioning. A promise of healing and recovery is nothing compared to
enjoying and valuing the time one has with those whom they love.
Works Cited
Brooks, Michael. "People Should Be Wary of Overseas Stem Cell Clinics Offering Cures." Stem
Cells. Jacqueline Langwith. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt.
from "Value of a Soft Cell." New Statesman (9 Dec. 2010). Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 24 July 2014.
Clemmitt, Marcia. "Stem Cell Research." CQ Researcher 1 Sept. 2006: 697-720. Web. 24 July
2014.
Edelstein, S. A., and L. P. Holmes. “Cellr4.” Cellr4. Verduci International LLC, 04 Feb. 2014.
Web. 23 July 2014.
“FDA Warns About Stem Cell Claims.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration. N.p., 06 Jan. 2012.
Web. 21 July 2014.
Glenn, Mike. "Houston Judge Sentences Man in Stem Cell Scheme Case."Houston Chronicle.
N.p., 02 May 2014. Web. 25 July 2014.
Scott, Sophie, and Allison Branley. "Experts Warn against Experimental Stem Cell
Treatments." ABC News. N.p., 19 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 July 2014.
Zaidi, Shabih H. Ethics in Medicine. Switzerland: Springer International, 2014. Print.