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Patients not told therapy was on trial
By Staff Reporter |
April 19, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
STEM cell technology, despite being allowed only in clinical trials, is being widely promoted for the treatment of diabetes, strokes and other conditions by some hospitals in China.
But many patients complained their symptoms deteriorated with at least one patient dying four days after treatment, state television reported.
Patients pay dearly for stem cell therapy - usually between 50,000 (US$7,657) and 100,000 yuan, China Central Television said.
CCTV interviewed a hospital in Shanghai and one in Beijing over their use of stem cell technology. It didn't name the hospitals, but details and a similar report in last month's Century Weekly revealed that the Shanghai hospital was the No. 455 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army.
No improvement
The hospital yesterday refused requests for an interview.
Shanghai Health Bureau wouldn't comment, saying the army hospital didn't come under local health authority's control.
Zhang Xiang, from Hubei Province, came to the hospital for diabetes treatment last May.
He told CCTV doctors promised him a more than 90 percent possibility the disease would be cured after a stem cell transplant. However, he said, there was no improvement after spending more than 110,000 yuan on the treatment.
Hong Chun, 29, came to the hospital for stem cell therapy after a stroke in July last year but he died four days after a stem cell transplant.
Stem cell treatment introduces new cells into damaged tissue to treat disease or injury. It has the potential to treat diseases by replacing diseased and damaged areas in the body, with minimal risk of rejection and side effects.
But China has only approved stem cell transplants for blood diseases such as leukemia. Treatments for other diseases are still under trial.
Stem cell technology was recognized by the Ministry of Health in March 2009 but it determined further clinical trials were needed.
The ministry ruled that hospitals must tell patients that the therapy was on trial and should reduce or waive medical bills.
The No. 455 hospital claims on its website that stem cell treatment is effective for various problems such as diabetes, brain damage and aging and said it was the "medical achievement transformation base" of the National Stem Cell Engineering Research Center.
CCTV found pictures of leading experts and doctors from the national center on display at the hospital.
Han Zhongchao, director of the national center, said the base was set up between the center and the hospital two years ago.
"However," he told CCTV, "it didn't follow our agreement and the cooperation has stopped already. Using our pictures for promotion was never included in the agreement."
Patients said the hospital didn't tell them the technology was a trial. If they had known, they said, they would never have agreed to treatment.
"I wouldn't have sent my son for such a clinical trial. It is so irresponsible," a father who had sent his son to the No. 455 hospital for diabetes treatment told CCTV. "My son's disease got worse after the stem cell transplant."
The hospital claimed it had a license for stem cell treatment. However, it showed CCTV an approval for clinical trials issued on March 3. CCTV said it had already been using stem cell technology for more than two years.
But many patients complained their symptoms deteriorated with at least one patient dying four days after treatment, state television reported.
Patients pay dearly for stem cell therapy - usually between 50,000 (US$7,657) and 100,000 yuan, China Central Television said.
CCTV interviewed a hospital in Shanghai and one in Beijing over their use of stem cell technology. It didn't name the hospitals, but details and a similar report in last month's Century Weekly revealed that the Shanghai hospital was the No. 455 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army.
No improvement
The hospital yesterday refused requests for an interview.
Shanghai Health Bureau wouldn't comment, saying the army hospital didn't come under local health authority's control.
Zhang Xiang, from Hubei Province, came to the hospital for diabetes treatment last May.
He told CCTV doctors promised him a more than 90 percent possibility the disease would be cured after a stem cell transplant. However, he said, there was no improvement after spending more than 110,000 yuan on the treatment.
Hong Chun, 29, came to the hospital for stem cell therapy after a stroke in July last year but he died four days after a stem cell transplant.
Stem cell treatment introduces new cells into damaged tissue to treat disease or injury. It has the potential to treat diseases by replacing diseased and damaged areas in the body, with minimal risk of rejection and side effects.
But China has only approved stem cell transplants for blood diseases such as leukemia. Treatments for other diseases are still under trial.
Stem cell technology was recognized by the Ministry of Health in March 2009 but it determined further clinical trials were needed.
The ministry ruled that hospitals must tell patients that the therapy was on trial and should reduce or waive medical bills.
The No. 455 hospital claims on its website that stem cell treatment is effective for various problems such as diabetes, brain damage and aging and said it was the "medical achievement transformation base" of the National Stem Cell Engineering Research Center.
CCTV found pictures of leading experts and doctors from the national center on display at the hospital.
Han Zhongchao, director of the national center, said the base was set up between the center and the hospital two years ago.
"However," he told CCTV, "it didn't follow our agreement and the cooperation has stopped already. Using our pictures for promotion was never included in the agreement."
Patients said the hospital didn't tell them the technology was a trial. If they had known, they said, they would never have agreed to treatment.
"I wouldn't have sent my son for such a clinical trial. It is so irresponsible," a father who had sent his son to the No. 455 hospital for diabetes treatment told CCTV. "My son's disease got worse after the stem cell transplant."
The hospital claimed it had a license for stem cell treatment. However, it showed CCTV an approval for clinical trials issued on March 3. CCTV said it had already been using stem cell technology for more than two years.
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