{"id":65572,"date":"2026-01-31T18:47:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T13:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=65572"},"modified":"2026-01-31T19:08:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T13:38:19","slug":"stem-cells-autism-sc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/31-01-2026\/stem-cells-autism-sc","title":{"rendered":"Use of Stem Cells to Treat Autism Unethical:\u2009SC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Science &amp; Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court of India (SC) ruled that offering Stem Cell Therapy (SCT) as a routine clinical treatment for<strong> Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)<\/strong> is unethical and constitutes medical malpractice.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting social interaction, communication, and behavior of the person.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Did the Supreme Court Term It Unethical?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lack of Scientific Evidence:<\/strong> There is no conclusive clinical proof that stem cell therapy can improve or cure autism and when a procedure lacks a scientific &#8220;standard of care,&#8221; a practitioner cannot provide adequate information regarding risks and outcomes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Violation of Medical Ethics:<\/strong> Offering unproven therapies violates principle of non-maleficence (do no harm) &amp; informed consent, as patients may be misled by exaggerated claims.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Therapeutic Misconception:<\/strong> Clinics often exploit the emotional vulnerability of parents of children with ASD by framing &#8220;experimental trials&#8221; as &#8220;proven cures.&#8221; This is an ethical failure of Transparency and Honesty.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regulatory Non-Compliance:<\/strong> In India, stem cell use is regulated by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) &amp; National Guidelines for Stem Cell Research. These guidelines do not permit stem cell therapy for autism outside approved clinical trials.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are Stem Cells?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can develop into different specialised cells.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Types include:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Embryonic stem cells<\/strong> (Pluripotent: Can become any cell type in the body.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Adult stem cells<\/strong> (Multipotent: Usually limited to becoming the cell type of their origin (e.g., blood cells))<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Induced pluripotent stem cells<\/strong> (iPSCs) (Reprogrammed: Lab-altered to act like embryonic stem cells)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Umbilical Cord Cells<\/strong> (Often used in treating blood-related disorders like Leukemia)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Stem Cell Therapy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stem Cell Therapy is a medical treatment in which stem cells are used to repair, replace, or regenerate damaged cells, tissues, or organs in the human body.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (2021), stem cell therapy is recognised as standard treatment only for hematological disorders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: TH<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> In News <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Supreme Court of India (SC) ruled that offering Stem Cell Therapy (SCT) as a routine clinical treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is unethical and constitutes medical malpractice. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Why Did the Supreme Court Term It Unethical? <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Lack of Scientific Evidence: There is no conclusive clinical proof that stem cell therapy can improve or cure autism and when a procedure lacks a scientific &#8220;standard of care,&#8221; a practitioner cannot provide adequate information regarding risks and outcomes. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Violation of Medical Ethics: Offering unproven therapies violates principle of non-maleficence (do no harm) &#038; informed consent, as patients may be misled by exaggerated claims. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/31-01-2026\/stem-cells-autism-sc \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65572"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65600,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65572\/revisions\/65600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}