Feature Story: Hope or Hoax? The controversial promise of stem cell treatment

Abstract

Just a few months ago, anyone Googling the phrase stem cell transplant would have been taken to private clinic sites around the world offering so-called "cures" for conditions ranging from multiple sclerosis to spinal cord injuries to aging. Seductive ads promised to isolate stem cells from one's own bone marrow or blood, or extract these stem cells from donated umbilical cords or human embryos, and reinject them into the body to fight disease or promote healing -for up to $15,000 USD per treatment. Today, Google has placed active controls on those ads, and one Canadian public policy researcher who studies the legal and policy issues of emerging medicine couldn't be happier.