The Stem Cell Hard Sell: Report from a Clinic's Patient Recruitment Seminar.
The growing direct-to-consumer, stem cell clinic industry in the U.S. uses a number of strategies for patient recruitment, including self-styled educational seminars, which may reach thousands of members of the public annually. Here I report on a first-hand experience at such a seminar that I recently attended. Numerous specific medical claims were made at the seminar: no potential for rejection; no side effects, including no pain; proven efficacy for a variety of conditions, including in particular arthritis and pain; and U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. I discuss the potential impact of these kinds of seminars on the public and on the stem cell field. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:14-16.
Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Davis, California, USA.|Genome Center, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Davis, California, USA.|Institute of Pediatric Regenerative Medicine, Shriners Hospital for Children Northern California, Sacramento, California, USA.
Paul S
PS
Knoepfler
D006801:Humans; D018579:Patient Selection; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000191:economics; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*