Abstract
Background: Clinical treatments involving autologous cell-based therapies (ACBT) remain prevalent despite a lack of scientific backing and an evolving regulatory landscape aimed at assessing their safety and efficacy for clinical adoption. This study seeks to assess patients’ experiences and perceptions of clinical treatments involving ACBT and their knowledge and views of the regulatory context and associated governance issues. Methods: An anonymous online survey of 181 participants who have been treated or are in the process of being treated with ACBT was conducted. Recruitment was via social media platforms. Data was collected through Qualtrics and analyzed using SPSS 29 for the quantitative responses and NVivo 1.7.1 for the qualitative responses. Results: Several themes emerged from the data, including the prominent role of healthcare providers throughout the patient journey, informational practices during the clinical encounter, the high prevalence of pay-for-participation trials, patients’ gaps in regulatory knowledge, and patients’ priorities regarding clinical trials and regulation of ACBT. Conclusions: The study makes a novel contribution to the literature by providing the first analysis of patients’ experiences and perceptions of an emerging cell-based therapy within an evolving regulatory landscape. The findings serve as a valuable resource for developing policy, promoting scientific rigor, and ensuring ethical oversight of ACBT and other upcoming cell-based therapies.