Patients seeking treatment with unproven stem cell therapies sometimes turn to crowdfunding to pay for the interventions, according to new research published May 8 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study examined more than 350 U.S.-based businesses engaging in direct-to-consumer advertising of stem cell treatment. As part of the study, researchers searched two charitable crowdfunding platforms — GoFundMe and YouCaring — for mentions of the stem cell treatment businesses from August 2017 to December 2017.
The study ultimately identified 408 campaigns as of Dec. 3, 2017. These campaigns, which sought donations for stem cell treatment marketed by 50 individual businesses, received pledges for approximately $1.5 million from 13,050 donors, and were shared more than 111,000 times on Facebook and Twitter.
Nearly 44 percent of the 408 campaigns "made statements that were definitive or certain" about the stem cell treatment's effectiveness, while more than 30 percent "made statements optimistic or hopeful about efficacy," according to the study. More than 15 percent of the 408 campaigns made both types of statements. Only about 11 percent failed to make any efficacy claims. Researchers said they also found campaigns underemphasized risks, as any mentions of risks claimed the stem cell treatment had no/low risks compared to other treatment options.
"These findings suggest that medical crowdfunding campaigns convey potentially misleading messages about stem cell interventions," the study's authors wrote. "These claims may be especially powerful when embedded within compelling personal narratives … The interests of both patients and the public suggest a role for clinicians in actively combating this misinformation by challenging problematic DTC marketing messages."
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