BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) — Opposition Leader Dr Denzil L Douglas has called for the research stem cell project being conducted at the JN France General Hospital to be stopped immediately.

Douglas told a news conference here that the unauthorised Regenerative Stem Cell Research Project has generated fear and concern among the population.

“Those persons who are engaged at the JN France General Hospital in this so-called stem cell research should not continue to perform the duties that they have been ordered to perform by the medical and health authorities unless safety procedures have been detailed,” he said.

Douglas said the project should also be halted “unless we can see that adequate legislation has been put in place regarding the conduct of such research activities pertaining to stem cell research or the application of therapy, whatever is the application of therapy or whatever is the application that is engaged in this particular stem cell research”.

Last week, the Timothy Harris government said it was not engaged in any stem cell project here with the minister of state with responsibility for health, Wendy C Phipps, indicating that she wanted to “state categorically that neither the Ministry of Health nor the JNF General Hospital is engaged in any stem cell project”.

“Government has given approval to a research project involving the use of plasma-based infusion therapies, to a limited number of overseas patients,” she said, adding that the project, as approved, will not extend to any resident of St Kitts and Nevis.

The controversy over the project has led to the retirement of Chief Medical Officer Dr Patrick Martin, who had been working for three years past the mandatory age of retirement and instructed last Thursday to proceed on retirement leave with immediate effect.

The medical practitioner said he believed that the incident at the JNF hospital over the stem cell project was the trigger for being asked to retire.

He said that while stem cell research will “become more the order of the day” his office was the competent authority to oversee the project as allowed for under the Public Health Act.

“I have no problem with stem cell,” he told WINN FM radio, adding that “stem cell research or experimentation must be guided by ethical safeguards and other safeguards”.

Douglas told reporters that he is of the view that the general public must not use the private ward at the Joseph N France General Hospital unless the government makes it abundantly clear that it is safe for them to do so.

He said prior to the last general election, his administration had prepared draft legislation that was shared with the government of The Bahamas and that a few weeks ago the Antigua and Barbuda government took that draft to its own parliament to deal with stem cell research.

Douglas asked who were the doctors administering the therapy on the two patients at the hospital and whether the local nurses involved in the project have been trained in stem cell research.

“Do they have a choice? And if others are being paid for their services in the stem cell research, are the nurses being paid and who including members of government are being paid?” asked Douglas.