Parents of children with autism are turning to a controversial stem cell treatment backed by the US Health Secretary. A growing number of clinics in the US are charging parents tens of thousands of dollars for stem cell therapy, which is being given to children as young as 18 months old. The Guardian’s chief reporter Ed Pilkington tells Kai Wright about his months-long investigation into the providers of these treatments, and their connections to the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr. He also spoke with figures in the science community who fear the FDA may be loosening its rigorous restrictions on stem cell treatment for autism
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The Guardian · US news · Original story
The unproven autism treatment taking off under RFK Jr – Stateside with Kai and Carter
Parents of children with autism are turning to a controversial stem cell treatment backed by the US Health Secretary. A growing number of clinics in the US are charging parents tens of thousands of dollars for stem cell therapy, which is being given to children as young as 18 months old. The Guardian’s chief reporter Ed Pilkington tells Kai Wright about his months-long investigation into the providers of these treatments, and their connections to the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr. He also spoke with figures in the science community who fear the FDA may be loosening its rigorous restrictions on stem cell treatment for autism ‘Autistic kids are being experimented on’: inside America’s booming market for unproven stem cell infusions Watch on YouTube Continue reading...
Hosted by Kai Wright, with Ed Pilkington . Produced by Anabel Bacon, engineered by Ivan Kuraev, executive producer Rachel Humphreys · Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 2:00 PM
US news | The Guardian
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