As research on "regenerative medicine" that produces various tissues and cells in the body to treat diseases progresses, the Japan Society for Regenerative Medicine has announced its policy of establishing a unique system to certify medical institutions that can safely perform such medical care.
Ahead of the start of the general meeting of the Japan Society for Regenerative Medicine in Kyoto City on the 23rd, Hideyuki Okano, president of the society, and others held a press conference on the 22nd and announced their policy to introduce their own accreditation system for medical institutions that conduct regenerative medicine.
President Okano first indicated that he intends to create accreditation standards for medical institutions that perform advanced regenerative medicine using iPS cells and ES cells, and then stated that "a 'special function hospital' such as a university hospital is one guideline," and that medical institutions that can respond to sudden changes in the patient's condition will be targeted.
On the other hand, according to the report of the expert meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, although the effectiveness of regenerative medicine has not been sufficiently scientifically verified, it is sometimes implemented as a free medical treatment.
The report points out that there is a risk that the examination is not conducted fairly, as in about one-quarter of the cases where sufficient papers supporting safety are not sufficiently shown in the examinations necessary for the implementation of such free medical care.
In response to these points, President Okano stated, "There are various levels of regenerative medicine, and we need to consider a system according to the stage," and then stated, "It is an important mission to increase trust in regenerative medicine by providing information on which medical institutions can receive medical examinations with peace of mind." He expressed his intention to work to improve the quality of regenerative medicine as an academic society.