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Japan’s health ministry shuts down clinic over ‘anti-aging treatment’

The health ministry shut down a clinic in Saitama over an anti-aging treatment involving the use of umbilical cords
The health ministry shut down a clinic in Tokorozwa City over an anti-aging treatment involving the use of umbilical cords

SAITAMA (TR) – The government ordered a clinic in Tokorozawa City to suspend its untested so-called “anti-aging treatment” involving the injection of stem cells, reports TBS News (Feb. 21).

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued an emergency order on Monday for the Saitama Medical Clinic to suspend the procedure, which includes the injection of stem cells from illegally obtained umbilical cord blood, for failing to take a government safety check.

The clinic admitted eight people have received the unauthorized procedure since December 2015, Nippon News Network reported (Feb. 21). Ministry officials discovered the treatment while checking medical records at the clinic during an on-site inspection on Friday.

The health ministry was tipped off by reports that the clinic illegally obtained residual blood stem cells in umbilical cords. The ministry plans to rush efforts to determine the health risks from the procedure and investigate how the clinic was able to obtain the stem cells.

The clinic will also be requested to produce a report, ministry officials said.