The phenomenon of stem cell tourism has been associated with travel to exotic locations such as China, Argentina or Mexico, where commercial clinics offer high hopes, expectations and — sometimes — the idea of miracle treatments for diseases ranging from muscular dystrophy to spinal cord injury, with little accountability.
However, research out June 30 suggests the destinations for such “stem cell tourism” might be changing, as clinics are becoming more common in the United States.
A study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell concluded that Americans don’t have to go abroad to get these treatments. The researchers found at least 351 businesses operating 570 such clinics domestically, and many offer services that claim to treat a wide range of illnesses with a lack of scientific evidence or oversight.
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