BASSETERRE, ST KITTS – Another call for the Timothy Harris government to ensure that the recent Stem Cell scandal is not reactivated at the J. N France General Hospital without the necessary legislation and protocols in place.
St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party caretaker for St Christopher 8, Dr Terrance Drew said Wednesday that there are plans by the government to continue the illegal stem cell research by international fashion mogul, Peter Nygard at the main hospital after it was aborted a few months ago by then Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Patrick Martin, who only became aware of the project while it was in progress.
He disclosed there are plans to restart the stem cell research project based on the pervious arrangement.
“Monies have been passed and there are demands that the authorities live up to the agreement made during the previous negotiations or the monies be repaid,” said Dr Drew.
He said the controversial project must not continue without the necessary legislation, legal, ethical and moral standards in place.
“The Government do not have a task force. The Government has not put legislation in place. The Government has accepted that someone can come into this country, go to our main hospital and bypass all rules, regulations and ethics and morals in this stem cell matter,” said Dr. Drew., who reminded listeners that when the scandal blew up, Junior Health Minister Sen. the Hon Wendy Phipps denied there was a stem cell operation at the hospital.
The stem cell project was later confirmed by then Chief Medical Officer Dr Martin, Health Minister Hon Eugene Hamilton and correspondence from Matron Sonia Daley informing nurses of the start date of the project, the nurses who were assigned and the use of a section of the Private Ward.
Bahamas media reports that Peter Nygard could still seek to set up his stem cell clinic in The Bahamas, but the new stem cell rules mean that politicians have been taken out of the decision making process. So Nygard would have to convince the National Stem Cell Ethics Committee and its Miami advisor, that all is above board and legally sound.
A national task force on stem cell therapy led to the regulation in the Bahamas. The Stem Cell Secretariat within the Bahamas Ministry of Health has reviewed six proposals for stem cell therapy and research. Five were provisionally approved and one was deferred. Full approval will only be considered after a clinic has been operating and functioning for at least a year. No clinic yet has full approval. Operating an illegal stem cell clinic now risks a fine of $250,000 or three to 10 years’ imprisonment, or both. The National Stem Cell Ethics Committee meets every six months in January or June to go through applications.
The Bahamas Government has taken a major step towards developing a stem cell industry with the signing of a consultancy agreement with the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine’s, Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute.
The Bahamas was the first country in the English-speaking Caribbean region to have a regulatory framework for the conduct of stem cell research.