Class Action Status For Stem Cell Clinic Customers

A California-based company that offered stem cell therapy for a variety of ailments will now be defending against a class of customers who say their $14,900 treatments were ineffective. A federal judge certified the class on June 24. The plaintiffs say they were enticed by a claim on the StemGenex website that patients experienced 90 percent satisfaction for conditions including Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s disease, spinal cord injury, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, peripheral neuropathy and rheumatoid arthritis. The procedure at such clinics, of which there are many, consists of removing fat from customers’ bodies via liposuction, and purportedly extracting stem cells for reinjection into the subjects’ bodies. There are no scientific studies showing that the procedure effectively treats any medical condition. StemGenex customers were picked up at the San Diego airport and provided a room at a local hotel and transportation to the clinic site where they were subjected to a variety of hard sell tactics. The procedure typically lasted a few hours. The law firm Mulligan, Banham and Findley represents the plaintiffs.