Stem cell therapy for autism: national committee seeks views on who should join ICMR trial at AIIMS Delhi and Amrita Kochi

Parents of children with autism now have a say in who may enter a government-funded trial of stem cell therapy for autism. The National Stem Cell Research Regulation Committee (NSRC) has asked for views on the eligibility rules of a proposed randomised controlled trial, funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), that is to run at AIIMS New Delhi and Amrita Hospital in Kochi.

The public notice, issued by the Department of Health Research on Thursday, 5 November and put up on the ICMR website, wants submissions by email to suggestions.asd.rct.nsrc@gov.in in an attached format. Each respondent says whether they are a health care professional, a parent or caregiver, a patient or parent group, or someone else, and then sets out each issue, the change they propose and the evidence for it. Published papers or guidelines can be attached. The notice gives no closing date.

What sending views does not do

A submission does not earn anyone a place in the trial, and it does not guarantee a hearing, although the committee may seek clarifications or invite some respondents to a hearing. Only one combined response is accepted from each person or organisation, and the notice says advertising material and complaints unrelated to the trial will be ignored.

Why only a trial

The committee was formed by an office order dated 24 March 2026, following directions of the Supreme Court in Yash Charitable Trust vs Union of India. Its job is to regulate research that uses stem cells which have had at most minimal manipulation. On 30 January 2026, a Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan ruled that doctors may not offer stem cell therapy for autism spectrum disorder as a routine treatment; it can be given only inside a trial that has approval and is monitored.

A National Medical Commission advisory of 25 March, issued on ICMR’s recommendation, limited routine stem cell use to conditions on the Health Ministry’s approved list. Under the rules that followed, patients in an approved stem cell trial pay nothing, and the trial must compensate anyone who is injured or dies. The 5 November notice does not say when enrolment at the two hospitals will begin or how many participants the trial will take.