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The Court said that no fruitful purpose would be served by stopping the treatment that is going on at present
The Delhi High Court on Thursday allowed two children suffering from autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to undergo stem cell therapy for treatment of their condition.
The family members of the two children had moved the high court earlier this year with a petition after children's treatment was stopped by their doctors on account of a recommendation by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of National Medical Commission (NMC) dated December 6, which said that the use of stem cell therapy shall amount to “professional misconduct”.
A division bench comprising CJ Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula said that there was “no law banning the use of stem cell therapy” for ASD and even the NMC was yet to take a final decision on the recommendation.
"No fruitful purpose would be served by stopping the treatment that is going on at present and therefore the petitioners are permitted to continue the treatment”, the bench said.
It also clarified that this was an interim order and that they did not want the treatment to be stopped right now. Further, the court clarified that the treatment would be at the risk of the petitioners.
During the hearing, two expert doctors from AIIMS were also present, and they assisted the court. The doctors apprised the bench that stem cell therapy is allowed as a mode of treatment only for blood cancer and its use for treating ASD was currently at an experimental stage.
The doctors submitted that more research was required on the use of the therapy for ASD before it was prescribed as a treatment. “As of now, even the therapy protocol was not clear”, they said.
One of the petitioners who herself is a doctor, apprised the court that stem cell treatment for her daughter should not be stopped as she has shown “great improvements” after taking it.
The petitioners argued that the recommendation was proving an impediment in the treatment of the first petitioner’s grandson and second petitioner’s daughter, who suffer from Global developmental delay with Autism, a developmental disorder that affects their social and cognitive growth.
The matter will be taken up for further consideration on October 3, 2023.
Case Title: Dalip Kaur & Anr. v. Union of India & Anr.
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