Mexico-Based Stem Cell Clinic Advances in Accreditation Process

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The International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS), an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the field of adult cell based medicine, announced today that the Regenerative Medicine Institute (RMI) of Tijuana, Mexico, has successfully undergone and completed the first phase of its formal Stem Cell Clinic Accreditation Process. The program, an 18-month process launched earlier this year, has already seen a tremendous amount of participation from stem cell clinics around the world.

JUNE 29, 2011. PORTLAND, OREGON – The International Cellular Medicine Society (ICMS), an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the field of adult cell based medicine, announced today that the Regenerative Medicine Institute (RMI) of Tijuana, Mexico, has successfully undergone and completed the first phase of its formal Stem Cell Clinic Accreditation Process. The program, an 18-month process launched earlier this year, has already seen a tremendous amount of participation from stem cell clinics around the world.

Since joining the program in March, RMI has presented its protocols for review by the ICMS Institution Review Board, entered its first patients into the ICMS Treatment Registry, and undergone its initial site audit successfully, with an additional, follow up site audit planned in six months. The remaining stages of the accreditation process will now shift over to patient safety as the ICMS continuously tracks the treatment outcomes of RMI’s patients to ensure that there are no complications of severe adverse events.

The ICMS anticipates that if the clinic maintains the same level of compliance and adherence to the organization’s program and guidelines, RMI will be able to have its full accreditation status reviewed and voted on by the Medical Advisory Board within the next 12 months. David Audley, Executive Director of the ICMS states that, “While the site is not yet accredited, the progress of the clinic, and the openness of RMI to international oversight, is promising. The ICMS will continue to monitor the safety profile of the procedures and report on the progress of the clinic. We hope the RMI can serve as a model for other Mexico based clinics.”
“RMI welcomes any and all oversight,” said Dr. Javier Lopez, Director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute (RMI), “We see accreditation as an essential step in showing our commitment towards patient safety within the advancement of adult stem therapy translation and research.” RMI is the first clinic in the ICMS Accreditation Program to have made this much progress. To learn more about the Accreditation Program and its participating clinics, please visit the ICMS website.