Clinical Application
In order to take the results of our stem cell science into applications that will benefit people, we have developed a very close partnership between the scientists working in research laboratories and the hospitals in the area.
The vast majority of healthcare in the UK is provided by the National Health Service (NHS), which is funded out of general taxation and is free at the point of use. In order to take science from the laboratory to the bedside, a collaborative approach between scientists and clinicians throughout the region is required.
Hospitals in Newcastle have very extensive experience of transplant surgery and provide an active programme of liver, kidney, heart, heart/lung, pancreas and bone marrow transplantations. They have developed an international reputation in the field of the immunobiology of transplantation and graft vs. host disease, which will be important in ensuring that any tissues that we are able to engineer from stem cell therapies are not rejected by the body of the person they are transplanted into. Newcastle is also one of the leading centres in the UK for research into musculoskeletal disease and diabetes research.
We will continue to develop these collaborations in the coming years, as it will only be by working together that we will be able to deliver stem cell-based therapies that work.
Stem Cell Trials
Although some very limited forms of stem-cell-based treatments (such as bone marrow transplants) are already carried out on the NHS, most stem cell science is not yet at a stage where it is suitable for being used in people ('clinical trials'). It is likely to be some years, even decades in some cases, before stem cell-based treatments - particularly those based on embryonic stem cells - become common.
In the UK (and the wider European Union), drug trials and other clinical trials are very strictly controlled, requiring safety tests on animals before they reach even very first tests on humans. All stem cell treatments will go through this very rigorous process.
We are currently only carrying out one clinical trial, related to a very particular type of stem cell in the eye. Unless you are specifically asked by your ophthalmological consultant to participate in this trial, there are no other trials run by NESCI that you can take part in.
Patient Advice
For any patients considering travelling abroad for any medical treatments, including those advertised as being based on stem cell science, NESCI strongly advises you to make yourself be aware of governmental recommendations from the Department of Health. The Department of Health’s advice, notes that such referrals should only be considered when the condition involved is of a serious nature; suitable treatment is not available within the UK or EEA; the treatment abroad is well-established, not merely experimental; and there is a probability of significant benefit to the patient.
In all cases, NESCI strongly endorses the Department of Health’s recommendation that patients should be referred first to a UK hospital based consultant for advice.
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has recently produced a Patient Handbook on Stem Cell Therapies. If you - or a friend or family member - are considering participating in any such experimental treatments, we urge you to read the Handbook.
