The patient at the centre of this case, Sheila Drysdale, underwent a liposuction procedure administered by cosmetic surgeon, Dr Ralph Bright, at his private Sydney clinic. Dr Bright did not perform this procedure for cosmetic reasons, but rather to ‘treat’ her advanced dementia with adipose (fat) derived stem cells. Mrs Drysdale died within ten hours of the surgery. Following an inquest into her death, the New South Wales Deputy Coroner stated that the utilisation of stem cells to ‘treat’ dementia was “highly questionable” and displayed “some of the hallmarks of ‘quack’ medicine,” particularly owing to the lack of scientific evidence supporting such ’therapy.’ The Coroner, thus, called for a more rigorous regulation of ‘innovative’ medical procedures in Australia that would protect vulnerable patients. Sadly, the relevant regulatory authorities have done very little to bring about any justice for Mrs Drysdale, or to address the systemic problems in Australia’s legislative framework that allows medical professionals to offer unproven stem cell-based interventions to patients without any accountability.
This case came to our attention as part of the work being done on an Australian Research Council funded Linkage Project “Regulating autologous stem cell therapies in Australia.” (LP150100739) This is a major study being conducted in a collaboration between researchers at the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne, the Australian National University, and the National University of Singapore, and partner investigators at Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia, Arthritis Australia and Motor Neurone Disease Association of Australia. The project generates theoretical, ethical and legal insights that will guide the responsible development, translation and regulation of innovative stem cell interventions in Australia and internationally. Our study is engaging a wide range of stakeholders in workshops and interviews, including patients and patient advocacy groups, policymakers, regulators, scientists, medical practitioners, researchers, legal experts and stem cell providers.
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Image: By Jeremy Weate from Abuja, Nigeria – Snake oil, Sapa, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33792958
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Journal of Medical Ethics Blog
