Stem cell therapy - Harney must close all legal loopholes

THE controversy over the unregulated application of stem cell therapy being used to treat multiple sclerosis sufferers in Ireland turns the spotlight on the urgent need for strict laws to police this unproven arm of medicine.

Around 6,000 Irish people are afflicted with the chronically debilitating and incurable condition which attacks the nervous system. Seeking a remedy at any cost, some are turning to unproven stem cell treatment at a Cork clinic, as exposed by this newspaper.

Amazingly, its service is not illegal because there is no law to govern the application of stem cell research in the Republic. An official investigation is underway.

Against this backdrop, the Dáil yesterday heard graphic details of the Irish Examiner report that people with multiple sclerosis were undergoing unproven therapy. According to Green Party TD Dan Boyle, they have become victims on numerous levels because of the Government's failure to introduce rules on stem cell therapy. He argued that multiple sclerosis victims were falling victim to those representing themselves as regulated practitioners.

Ultimately, scientists believe the ability of undeveloped stem cells to change into another type of cell could transform their usage into a super "repair kit" for the body.

However, controversy has surrounded this vexed issue following the recent discovery that disgraced South Korean cloning expert, Hwang Woo-suk, had faked critical research. He has since been fired from his professorship at Seoul University and, along with six other academics, and is facing criminal charges.

The wholly unsatisfactory situation in this country is that, if a doctor believes a form of unlicensed treatment is the best available then, according to the Irish Medicines Board, it could be used in clinical therapy.

In a bid to set European standards, an EU directive due to come into force next Friday will regulate the use of human tissues and cells in medicine in countries where stem cell research is licensed. As yet, it is unclear whether or not these regulations will extend to services provided by practitioners of alternative medicine.

The astonishing thing is that the new regulations will make little difference here because the therapy is unlicensed in Ireland. That places a grave onus on the authorities here to ensure this vital research and its application are properly licensed. There should be no question of Irish people becoming guinea pigs.

In the public interest, it is imperative that Health Minister Mary Harney take whatever steps are necessary to properly police the research and use of stem cells and to ensure any remaining gaps in the law are closed off completely.