Inside the Mexican stem cell treatment used by the Kardashians and Joe Rogan: Why is it banned in the US?

It’s been over sixty years since the first hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, a bone marrow transplant, was performed. However, in all that time, the procedure has only been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with cancers and disorders that affect the blood and immune system.

This hasn’t stopped clinics from setting up shop to offer a range of therapies to heal injuries, reduce inflammation and pain, and even turn back the body’s clock using stem cells. However, these aren’t approved by the FDA, nor other regulatory bodies, so the facilities are popping up around the world outside the U.S., especially in Mexico which lacks specific laws explicitly prohibiting stem-cell treatments.

Despite the procedures being unapproved by the FDA, celebrities are hopping on planes and flocking to have them done, and shelling out thousands of dollars. Health experts though caution against the practice, saying that unregulated stem cell therapies and unqualified providers could endanger patients’ health.

The rise of stem cell tourism

Joe Rogan has often spoken with guests on his show about how he went abroad to have “a bunch of stem-cell shot into [his] shoulder” to fix a full-length rotator cuff tear he had. When he went in six months after the treatment to get an MRI, he said that the doctor was shocked to see that the tear no longer existed.

Sisters Khloé and Kim Kardashian traveled to Eterna Health clinic in Mexico last year to receive a Muse stem cell treatment. Khloé needed help to recover from wear and tear on her body and inflammation she has sustained during her rigorous workout schedule as well as overall wellness.

Kim wanted lasting relief from chronic back pain. It was a return visit as she had been to the clinic two years before to treat a severe weightlifting injury that had left her struggling with daily pain.

While Eterna Health says that “Muse cell therapy continues to expand globally, it is not yet available in the United States.” This is because these treatments are still experimental and without data from clinical trials to prove they’re safe and effective the FDA will not approve them. Experts say the process could take decades.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has also touted stem cell treatments, even getting one herself recently in Puerto Vallarta to help her fight the aging process and promote long-term health, reports TMZ. The former U.S. congresswoman from Georgia told the outlet that she would like to see the therapy federally legalized so that people can get it inside the United States.

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