Lung Center gets nod to perform stem cell therapy
The Department of Health has accredited the Lung Center of the Philippines for the provision of human stem cell and cell-based therapies, the fourth health institution in the country to be allowed to perform such procedures.
The DOH said only those facilities approved by the Food and Drug Administration and the DOH’s Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau (HFSRB) may undertake hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, corneal resurfacing with limbal stem cells and skin regeneration with epidermal stem cells.
“The public is hereby advised that only the following institutions are accredited by the DOH to do stem cell therapies in the Philippines,” said HFSRB Director Nicolas Lutero III.
The three hospitals engaging in stem cell therapy since last year are The Medical City Institute of Personalized Medicine, Asian Stem Cell Institute and the Makati Medical Center Cellular Therapeutics Center.
The Lung Center of the Philippines Molecular Diagnostics and Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory was given the green light to engage in the three applications of stem cell therapies until Sept. 22 this year.
Lutero encouraged the public to notify the DOH about persons or institutions administering stem cells without accreditation or using stem cells for indications not approved by the FDA.
The four health institutions received a certificate of accreditation for stem cell and cell-based therapies following a careful review of submitted applications for accreditation and inspection for compliance with current good tissue practice and manufacturing practice.
In a study conducted by the DOH to determine the services and equipment available in hospitals nationwide, it found that five hospitals and several ambulatory surgical clinics were providing stem cell services to patients for various indications.
In a 2013 administrative order, the department said it was imperative that a regulatory framework be developed to ensure that patients had access to safe and quality health facilities engaging in human stem cell and cell-based therapies.
