The direct-to-consumer market for stem cell-based interventions in Australia: exploring the experiences of patients

Catherine Waldby, Tereza Hendl, Ian Kerridge, Wendy Lipworth, Tamra Lysaght, Megan Munsie, Cameron Stewart

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)
32 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The prevalence of businesses selling autologous stem cell-based interventions to patients in Australia has raised serious concerns about how weaknesses in regulation have enabled the emergence of an industry that engages in aggressive marketing of unproven treatments to patients. Little is known about how patients experience this marketing and their subsequent interactions with practitioners. This paper reports results from 15 semistructured interviews with patients and carers, and also draws upon discussion conducted with patients, carers and family members (22 participants) in a workshop setting. We explore how Australian patients and carers understand and experience these interventions, and how their presumptions about the ethics of medical practice, and the regulatory environment in Australia have conditioned their preparedness to undergo unproven treatments.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1238-1249
Number of pages12
JournalRegenerative Medicine
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2020. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

  • adult stem cells
  • advertising
  • direct-to-consumer
  • ethical
  • legal/regulatory
  • marketing
  • policy

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