Medical experts welcome stem cell guidelines

MANILA, Philippines - Doctors see more foreign tourists coming to the Philippines for stem cell therapy now that implementing rules and guidelines on stem cell therapy have been issued.

The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM) also believe it will boost medical tourism in the country.

PMA vice president Leo Olarte said proper government regulation will professionalize the practice of stem cell therapy and reopen the gateway for a real and sustainable medical tourism industry.

“For a long while medical tourism here did not flourish due to the absence of a viable product but with regulation, a high standard, effective, ethical and safe stem cell industry can be that viable product that can be unique to the Philippines,” he said.

Olarte said the issuance of new guidelines is very timely considering the growing interest over the medical procedure.

“This guidelines aim to ensure that human stem cell and cell-based therapies in the country are ethical, safe and effective,” he said.

Medical experts had expressed fear over abuses and illegal practice of stem cell therapy in the absence of regulations.             

Olarte said patients and the general public will be protected with Health Secretary Enrique Ona’s issuance of Administrative Order 2013-0012, the Rules and Regulations Governing the Accreditation of Health Facilities Engaging in Human Stem Cell and Cell-based or Cellular Therapies in the Philippines.

The new regulations classify which stem cell preparations and therapies should be registered and allowed with certain restrictions, he added.

Among these are stem cells derived from the patient’s own bone marrow, blood and fat, which are the internationally accepted and preferred sources of living stem cells.