Health Ministry Issues Advisory Limiting Stem Cell Therapy for Autism

The Union Health Ministry issued an advisory stating that stem cell therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder cannot be offered as a routine commercial treatment outside clinical trials.

The advisory follows a January Supreme Court judgment in Yash Charitable Trust v. Union of India holding that stem cell therapy for autism lacks sufficient evidence for standard care.

The ICMR evidence review concluded that scientific data does not support using stem cells over behavioural therapies, restricting therapeutic applications to duly approved clinical trials.