On the Road (to a Cure?) — Stem-Cell Tourism and Lessons for Gene Editing

Many desperate patients have left the United States seeking unproven and risky stem-cell interventions available in countries with less rigorous regulation. How can we keep gene editing from triggering a new wave of medical tourism? In 2011, football quarterback Peyton Manning went on the road to seek out stem-cell “treatment” for his neck. He wasn’t alone: many high-profile athletes and desperate (but less famous) patients left the United States seeking interventions available in countries with less rigorous regulation. They didn’t necessarily know what kind of cells they were getting, whether there was any evidence the intervention worked, or whether anyone understood the risks they were taking. So why did they do it? Part of the answer may lie in the Latin phrase argumentum ad novitatem, the appeal to the new. A powerful force in Western . . .