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The potent effects of Japan’s stem-cell policies

A five-year regulatory free-for-all in regenerative medicine has given the industry a boost. But patients might be paying the price.
  1. David Cyranoski

    1. David Cyranoski reports for Nature from Shanghai, China.

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Illustration by Fabio Buonocore

Tucked away in Tokyo’s trendiest fashion district — two floors above a pricey French patisserie, and alongside nail salons and jewellers — the clinicians at Helene Clinic are infusing people with stem cells to treat cardiovascular disease. Smartly dressed female concierges with large bows on their collars shuttle Chinese medical tourists past an aquarium and into the clinic’s examination rooms.

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Nature 573, 482-485 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02847-3

Additional reporting by Brendan Maher.

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 10 October 2019: An earlier version of this feature stated that an anonymous patient received a treatment called HeartSheet, developed by Yoshiki Sawa. The patient was told he was receiving a sheet of muscle cells from his thigh, which matches the description of HeartSheet, and was under the impression that Sawa was administering HeartSheet. Terumo, the company that produces HeartSheet, says that the patient did not receive HeartSheet but instead received an experimental treatment. Sawa has not returned Nature’s numerous requests for information or comment.

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