Stem Cell Treatments in India: An Ethnography of Regular Practice

In this article I explore how experimental stem cell treatments have become a therapeutic choice in India. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, I illustrate six sociotechnical pathways by which clinically unproven treatment is rendered regular health care practice for consumers and providers across the country. Through each pathway, based on the themes of bioconsumption, integration, consumer contacts, treatment experience and rituals, and political culture, I demonstrate how the experimental status of stem cell treatment is undermined and thereby experienced by key stakeholders as just another medical option. In analyzing the pathways, I argue that unproven stem cell treatment practices are promoted and sustained by multiple social, political and technical forces. The discussion on pathways is therefore situated within a conceptual framework of "normalization," derived from studies that investigate the multidimensional aspects to controversial and/or new medical technologies becoming routine.