Cellular division: Social and political complexity in Indian stem cell research

Abstract

A by-product of India's growing preoccupation with new biomedical and pharmaceutical technologies (biotech India) has been its growing profile as a center for medical tourism, including the largely unregulated field of stem cells in the treatment of a variety of disorders. As a result, some Indian clinicians are using untested stem cell therapies without appropriate ethical approval to further scientific knowledge in this contentious field. Guidance on informed consent is often de-contextualized from practice, and can result in it becoming a ritualized formality. It appears that, in the case of India, such guidance is not well established or closely followed. Various dimensions of class, gender, kinship and education are potential sites in India for exploitation in the sourcing of embryonic and other biogenetic materials, and must pose serious concerns about provenance. Together these contribute to social and political complexity in Indian embryonic stem cell research.