Life Assemblages and Bionetworking: Developments in Experimental Stem Cell Therapies in India and Japan

Abstract

Having discussed discourses around bioethics and stem cell research and notions of risk in China and Japan in Chapters 5 and 6, this chapter focuses on the ways in which stem cell research has developed in conjunction with the provision of stem cell therapy services in India and Japan. The enterprise of clinical stem cell science constitutes a complex social, medical, economic, regulatory and scientific venture that resonates across local and national borders. In contrast with research into stem cells, the provision of stem cell therapy is predominantly market-driven, involving a struggle among players at various institutional levels, including the state, public and private healthcare providers, and regulatory bodies (Salter et al., 2007; Salter, 2008). High expectations are raised about stem cell transplantation as the hopeful answer to a large number of acute and chronic disease conditions for which modern and conventional medicines have little to offer. These stem cell transplants mainly take place in private sector research-cum-hospital set-ups, although some public or state hospitals have also ventured into this field. In recent years, India has emerged as a new global player in this field. Although the evidence of the efficacy of adult stem cells in curing a wide range of disease conditions is questionable, many Indian and Chinese healthcare centres have been carrying out such therapies as experimental research or experimental therapy.