Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with clinical bodies on assistance with stem-cell therapy for people with MS.

A form of stem-cell therapy “autologous haematopoietic stem cell therapy” is available on the National Health Service. It is a very aggressive treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). It is available on the NHS in two centres in the United Kingdom: one in Sheffield and one in London. Further information can be found at the following link:

www.sth.nhs.uk/autologous-haematopoietic-stem-cell-transplantation-for-multiple-sclerosis/

In 2016, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), announced that it has been notified of the procedure “autologous un-manipulated peripheral blood stem cell therapy” for MS and consider it a part of the Institute’s work programme. The procedure is not currently being used outside of a research environment.

The full NICE guidance for the diagnosis and management of MS can be found via the following link:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg186