EuroStemCell have launched a digital platform to accompany the publication of the Regenerative Medicine two-part Special Focus Issue entitled “Regenerative Medicine in Society: Interdisciplinary Perspectives”. The platform presents lay summaries of each article in the issue which are freely available to all in order to engage and educate non-experts on the key issues surrounding regenerative medicine.

You can now read the lay summary for the article entitled, “Identity and ownership issues in the regulation of autologous cells” from Douglas Sipp [1].

The growing international industry of unproven stem cell therapies around the globe has increasingly focused on using autologous cells and promoted therapies as services that enable patients to access the medical potential of their own cells. Mr Sipp’s examination of a set of public comments submitted to the US Federal Drug Administration reveals strong public opinions about the ownership of autologous cells lying with the individual they come from. However, this appears to contradict current legal interpretations of ownership rights for unprocessed cellular materials, which may have to be revisited and revised to address these issues.

What questions & challenges are raised? What insight and direction does this give for research policies? To find out, read the full lay summary on the EuroStemCell website here: https://www.eurostemcell.org/regenerative-medicine-society/whose-cells-are-they-public-perceptions-about-owning-autologous-cells

The full original article can be accessed here: https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/10.2217/rme-2017-0063

References

[1] Sipp D. Identity and ownership issues in the regulation of autologous cells. Regen. Med. 12(7), 827–838 (2017).