PMA to sue doctors over illegal stem cell therapy

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) yesterday threatened to sue local doctors who work with foreign doctors to perform illegal stem cell treatments.

 â€œWe are warning Filipino doctors… to stop their collaborations. If you will continue doing this we will file criminal cases against you,” PMA president Dr. Leo Olarte said.

Olarte issued the warning amid reports of deaths due to complications arising from the illegal treatments, which use stem cells derived from animals.

Olarte said the PMA has received complaints from patients who said they were asked to check in at five-star hotels in Metro Manila.

“The patients were injected with animal-based stem cells by foreign doctors at P1 million per shot within their hotel rooms, and these foreigners are not even licensed to practice medicine in the country,” he said.

Olarte urged the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to investigate the reports of foreign doctors performing illegal stem cell procedures in hotels.

“How can we offer stem cell treatment as part of our Philippine medical tourism program if these scams continue to blemish the legitimate practice of stem cell or regenerative medicine in our country today?” he said.

According to Olarte said the only approved source of stem cells by the Department of Health are derived from the patient’s own blood, bone marrow and fat. Autologous stem cell therapy is the safest procedure that is available worldwide today, he said.

“Any other source outside the patient’s own body can result in death due to severe complications – specifically graft versus host reaction, immediate or delayed hypersensitivity reaction and severe infections,” Olarte said.

He called on patients who underwent illegal stem cell therapy to go to the PMA so they can file the necessary complaints.