06 June 2017

'Private hospitals use stem cell therapy in cases agreed upon by international medical community, where licensing is not required'

By Dana Al Emam 

AMMAN — The licensed use of stem cells in Jordan is limited to research purposes, according to the Ministry of Health. 

There are two licensed centres for stem cell research, Ministry Spokesperson Hatem Azrui said on Monday, noting that stem cell therapy has not been officially recognised for treatment locally and internationally.

While he said the ministry did not receive any direct complaints about the matter, the ministry has issued a memo on the need for private practitioners to abide by regulations that still do not allow stem cell therapy.

To this end, the ministry has formed a committee to look into regulating this kind of treatment, he said, adding that the ministry will start inspection campaigns to ensure this technology, which is still being studied, is not used beyond its permitted uses.

While President of the Private Hospitals Association Fawzi Hammouri agreed that stem cell therapy is still under research, he told The Jordan Times that private hospitals use it in specific cases.

He explained that private hospitals only use stem cell therapy in cases agreed upon by the international medical community, such as bone marrow transplants for leukemia, lymphoma and thalassemia.  

Hammouri noted that these applications of stem cells do not require licensing from the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, he said violations in this regard have occurred in private clinics, but not private hospitals.

© Jordan Times 2017