VANCOUVER, B.C. — A new study finds people are raising a lot of money with crowdfunding campaigns to pay for stem cell treatments that are unproven and could be dangerous.
Jeremy Snyder, a professor of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver B.C., says some clinics are taking advantage of the hopes of people who are sometimes desperate, and most insurance plans won’t cover the treatments because they’re unproven.
Most disturbingly, he says some people have suffered adverse effects from the treatments. “There are couple individuals who had some cell injections into their eyes to improve their sight a couple years ago, and actually ended up being blinded as a result,” he says.
Snyder says it’s important for anyone considering a stem cell treatment or thinking of giving to a funding campaign to research the treatment.