The following official statement was received from Claudette Medefindt from Retina South Africa (a member organisation of Council):

The X-Cell clinic in Germany has been closed down by the German Authorities and the centre has filed for bankruptcy. Retina South Africa has welcomed the news with great relief.

Retina South Africa's Director for Science, Claudette Medefindt, says “ The experimental procedures they were using were not backed up with any clinical trials or even papers published in any reputable scientific journals.” Desperate patients waiting for therapy often resort to unproven methods, but the use of autologous stem cells that have already specialised have potential dangers. Unrestricted cell growth could lead to tumours and many other complications.

“The therapeutic use of stem cells to treat retinal vision loss has tremendous potential, but proper scientifically controlled and registered treatment trials are only just beginning. Retina South Africa is in contact with all the role players in the international research arena and urges retinal patients to check with them before embarking on any unregistered and experimental procedures”

Young patients are urged to join the organisation and have a genetic test to determine which gene mutation they have. Only patients with a genetic diagnosis will be eligible for future gene specific treatments and clinical trials.

Contact Claudette via email or or phone her on 083 306-5262 or see the Retina ENews that features promising research and treatment trials on Retina South Africa's website.