Medical authorities in Australia are advising against patients visiting China for untested treatments derived from human embryos, amid reports that wealthy Westerners are paying large amounts of money in a bid to counter the effects of aging.
In recent years, concerns have been expressed about Chinese physicians injecting cells from aborted babies into the spines and brains of patients with spinal injuries or diseases.
The controversial treatments have now taken a different direction, however, with clinics offering anti-aging treatments.
An Australian naturopath, Michael Wilson, has accompanied patients to a clinic in Kunming for the cosmetic therapy.
Wilson said Thursday they included one of Australia’s wealthiest men, a construction tycoon in his 60s who had undergone the treatment with his wife.
Patients go through a 10-day program, receiving injections morning and night, and pay about $30,000. He said they reported improvements in skin condition, better sleep and clearer vision.
Wilson said the treatment involved being injected with material that activates “adult” stem cells already present in the patient’s body, enabling them to “repair and regenerate the tissues and organs.”
It’s where the injected material comes from that is controversial.
Wilson said the details of the process were confidential — “they’re not giving their technology to the rest of the world yet” — but he confirmed that the material was derived from blastocysts.
