Stem cell research and ethics in the spotlight at public event
Press release: 19 January 2011
Foreign stem cell clinics must be regulated – but not at the cost of medical innovation, says a University of Manchester academic who is speaking at a public meeting on Wednesday 19 January 2011.
Dr Rebecca Bennett, a Senior Lecturer in Bioethics at the Institute of Science Ethics and Innovation, University of Manchester, is an expert on the ethics of medical innovations. She is particularly interested in IVF, genetic testing in pregnancy and stem cell therapies.
Speaking about so-called stem cell tourism – where people from the UK travel abroad for stem cell treatments that are not available here – Dr Bennett said: "There are clinics in other countries willing to provide treatment that hasn't been through the rigorous testing process that we expect in the UK. These are often very expensive and could be useless or even harmful.
“It's really important to regulate these clinics but not at the cost of making medical progress and not so that people who are desperately ill cannot choose for themselves to pay for whatever treatment they wish to receive."
Dr Bennett will be discussing this issue, among others, with members of the public at Manchester Museum during an event organised by the UK National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN).
Joining Dr Bennett to talk about some of the world's most exciting and yet controversial new medical treatments will be other experts from The University of Manchester and local company Epistem. These include Professor Sue Kimber, Co-director of the Northwest Embryonic Stem Cell Research Centre, and Dr Stephen Richardson, from the School of Biomedicine.
The speakers will be exploring new developments in stem cell therapies for spinal injury, wound healing and brain diseases and discussing some of the ethical issues surrounding these treatments.
Dr Bennett continued: "It will be so interesting to hear what people think about these new developments. And would anyone consider going abroad and spending thousands of pounds on a cutting-edge treatment if they weren't sure it was going to work or even be safe?
"I'd find it hard to say what I'd do because I'm not facing life with a debilitating or terminal illness, but should we have the right to stop someone who is in that situation? As a society we allow individuals to do all sorts of things that some of us might think are unwise and that are potentially harmful.
"Attempting to stop clinics from making false claims is essential, but attempting to prevent individuals from travelling to get experimental stem cell therapy shows no respect for their choices and may even slow down the development of effective treatments. There is, however, a need for patients and their families to know the right questions to ask of a particular clinic in order to make as informed a decision as possible about the risks, costs and potential benefits."
This public event takes place at Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, Manchester, at 5.30pm on Wednesday 19 January 2011. To register to attend, please contact Dr Belinda Thompson at the UKNSCN on +44 (0)1793 442 851 or ukapm@uknscn.org.
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