ReviewInternational health2022
International stem cell tourism: a critical literature review and evidence-based recommendations.
Review in International health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Need for Ethical Governance of Stem Cell Technologies in Southeast Asia.Developing world bioethics · 2026Article
- Mesenchymal stem cells and the central nervous system: historical perspectives and future directions.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Review
- The marketing of "stem cell" supplements on Amazon.com: Assessing alignment with regulatory frameworks in the United States and Canada.Stem cell reports · 2025Article
- An updated narrative review on revolutionizing erectile dysfunction treatment: the crucial role of trophic factors in Adipose-Derived stem cell therapy.BMC urology · 2025Review
- Challenges in the Patent and Legal Environment for Cell Therapies.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- Medical embryology and regenerative medicine: research and applications in clinical practice.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Review
- Review
- Tissue and Cell Donation: Recommendations From an International Consensus Forum.Transplantation direct · 2023Article
- Stem cell sources and characterization in the development of cell-based products for treating retinal disease: An NEI Town Hall report.Stem cell research & therapy · 2023Article
- Stem cell-based therapy for human diseases.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2022Review
- Article
- Skin Rejuvenation with Cultured Melanocyte and Fibroblasts in a Medical Tourism Patient.World journal of plastic surgery · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Stem cell tourism is an emerging area of medical tourism activity. Frustrated by the slow translation of stem cell research into clinical practice, patients with debilitating conditions often seek therapeutic options that are not appropriately regulated. This review summarises recent developments in the field of stem cell tourism and provides clinicians with the information necessary to provide basic pretravel health advice to stem cell tourists. PubMed and Scopus databases were consulted for relevant publications, using combinations of the terms 'stem cell', 'tourism', 'regenerative medicine', 'international', 'travel medicine' and 'environmental health'. The leading countries in the international stem cell tourism market are the USA, China, India, Thailand and Mexico. As the majority of clinics offering stem cell therapies are based in low- and-middle-income countries, stem cell tourists place themselves at risk of receiving an unproven treatment, coupled with the risk of travel-related illnesses. These clinics do not generally provide even basic travel health information on their websites. In addition to often being ineffective, stem cell therapies are associated with complications such as infection, rejection and tumorigenesis. Physicians, researchers, regulatory bodies, advocacy groups and medical educators are encouraged to work together to improve patient and physician education and address current legislative deficiencies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.