Stem Cell Treatment for Blindness Under Lens

Thousands of anxious British patients have spent up to £30,000 on unproven stem cell treatments in China and in different places, an research by the Sunday Times found.

One treatment, admired between the parents of blind children, has been branded “child abuse” by a top British stem cell researcher because of its potential risks. The Chinese firm promoting the stem cell treatment disclosed this weekend that it had not yet conducted clinical experiments of the treatment. The firm, Beike Biotech, also admitted that it could not say how many kids had experienced improvements.

A number of British parents have resorted to begin fundraising request around the nation to pay for the treatment abroad. The stem cell treatment offered by the Chinese firm has not yet won regulatory approval in the United Kingdom.

Pete Coffey of the University College London said that there is no medical confirmation that the technique offered by Beike Biotech works and added that the children’s health could be put at risk.

Coffey, who is running a experiment with Pfizer to take care of blindness with stem cells, said there is no medical confirmation of improvement. “We don’t know if there have been any side effects,” he said.