Crowdfunding campaigns could raise money for charlatanism

A research letter showed that when well-intentioned and gullible people make donations for crowdfunding campaigns to raise funds for medical treatments, some of them may not benefit patients. The money could be used for unnecessary quackery treatments that could sometimes be dangerous.

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Last month, a report revealed that UK online crowdfunding campaigns often sent money to charlatans and medical cheats who claimed to cure incurable diseases such as cancer. This new study focuses on crowdfunding campaigns in the United States. The results of this new study were published in the last issue of the journal JAMA this week tuesday (october 23rd, 2018).

The study revealed that there are several crowdfunding sites in the United States that bring in millions of dollars worth of citizens for ineffective treatments such as homeopathy and questionable treatments. Dr. Ford Vox, an ethicist and brain repair specialist at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, specializing in spinal cord injury and brain injury, led this new study with colleagues.

Vox explained that they had become familiar with crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe in recent years, as many of their patients would seek financial assistance from these sites. He however noted that people were giving money for dubious treatments such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (OBS) in brain damage. HBO in brain damage has not been proven effective in factual studies, he explained. This alerted them to the practice of crowdfunding for questionable practices.

Soon, they began to consult other crowdfunding sites in the US and Canada for five suspicious treatments or charlatans: stem-cell treatments for the spinal cord and brain lesions, HBOT for brain damage, homeopathy or naturopathy for cancers and antibiotics for chronic Lyme disease. Dr. Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University, said he evaluated the campaigns of four major crowdfunding sites: GoFundMe, YouCaring, CrowdRise, and FundRazr.

Results between 2015 and 2017 revealed that people had requested more than $ 27 million for these five treatments in 1,059 campaigns and received $ 6.77 million. The numbers received should be higher because some of these campaigns were active at the end of the study period. The largest donations went to homeopathic and naturopathic cancer treatments ($ 3.46 million out of 474 campaigns), followed by brain stem cell therapy ($ 1.2 million), 98% of all funds gathered via GoFundMe.

"We identified nine named practitioners and eight countries that activists were planning to visit, including homeopathic or naturopathic cancer clinics in Germany and Mexico, a New Orleans clinic offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy for brain injuries and clinics in the United States, Panama and Thailand. In India, China and Mexico for stem cell therapies, "they wrote.

Vox explained that while homeopathy and naturopathy as such may not be harmful, they can prevent a person from getting the right treatment at the right time for their cancer. Stem cell therapies are also questionable, as many unethical and unscrupulous clinics use stem cell therapy for virtually all ailments without any scientific proof. Some of them can be seriously harmful, says Vox. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued public warnings against unproven stem cell-based therapies and homeopathy.

Vox and his team write that these crowdfunding sites and the money that goes on could keep many unscrupulous charlatans alive and multiply medical scams that could harm national health care. They added, "Assuming that the funds raised are used to pay for these treatments, the donors have indirectly paid millions of dollars to the practitioners to allow them to provide dubious, even dangerous, care". They suggested that crowdfunding sites could filter out quackery treatments and help those who are really in need. uninsured or underinsured receive money for their treatment.

In a statement to this study, GoFundMe said, "We always encourage people to do extensive research on everything for which they fundraise and to be absolutely transparent on their GoFundMe page, so that donors can make an informed decision regarding donations. . "