Stem cell treatment due for a checkup

BEIJING - China's top health authority will strictly regulate the cutting-edge stem cell treatment, which attracts thousands of patients from abroad each year, to ensure patient safety and the orderly development of the technology.

A one-year overhaul highlighting self-examination among practitioners will be launched to detect and eliminate irregularities surrounding the issue, said Deng Haihua, spokesman of the Ministry of Health at a news conference on Tuesday.

"All medical research and clinical practices of stem cell therapy without approval from the ministry and the State Food and Drug Administration will be put to an end after the overhaul," he told China Daily.