regenerative medicine and the developing world再生医学和发展中国家.pdfVIP

Policy Forum Regenerative Medicine and the Developing World Heather L. Greenwood, Peter A. Singer, Gregory P. Downey, Douglas K. Martin, Halla Thorsteinsdóttir, Abdallah S. Daar* panel of experts at the annual meeting of the AAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science has predicted that stem cell research will survive the fallout of the recent scandal involving falsifi cation of data by South Korean stem cell researcher Woo Suk Hwang [1]. As the fi eld of regenerative medicine regroups, it is important that recent events do not overshadow the potential benefi ts of the fi eld. These benefi ts include the opportunity to improve health care for the more than two-thirds of the world’s population who live in developing countries. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030381.g001 While developing countries face Figure 1. Countries Represented on the Expert Panel pressing priorities in providing basic health services to their populations, they are also increasingly struggling cell–based therapies include more adult stem cell–containing bone to manage epidemic rates of than a hundred million patients with regenerating therapy Osteocel [10]. noncommunicable diseases whose conditions such as cardiovascular The L. V. Prasad Eye Institute in India prolonged and costly care is drawing disease, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, has treated blindness in more than signifi cant resources away from these cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, 125 patients using adult stem cell basic priorities [2–4]. Although and burns [8]. therapy for corneal repair [11]. Ninety developing c