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Despite the egalitarian and charitable spirit of crowdfunding sites such as GoFundMe and YouCaring, the market can reinforce inequities and result in millions of dollars in untested and potentially dangerous surgery, according to a study published in JAMA.
In an accompanying blog post for Health Affairs, the authors cite previous research that shows that 90% of crowdfunding campaigns in the medical sector never reach their goals. Those who do so tend to have extensive social networks or very specific needs, rather than widespread or permanent needs, creating an environment of "inherent injustice".
The research of the authors is based on these results to show that beyond the inequalities of crowdfunding, there are dangers associated with the support of dangerous procedures. They studied crowdfunding activity for five ineffective, potentially unsafe or unproven treatments. The five treatments included long-term antibiotics for chronic Lyme disease, hyperbaric oxygen therapy for brain lesions, naturopathic and homeopathic cancer treatments, and stem-cell treatments that insert cells into the brain or brain. spinal cord.
They found that $ 6.77 million had been raised at crowdfunding sites for these five categories, including $ 3.46 million for healing of homeopathic and naturopathic cancers. According to the authors, an additional $ 1.2 million has been collected for stem cell-based treatments for brain damage, which can lead to stroke, infection, or death More than $ 590,000 was collected for the treatment of stem cells in spinal cord lesions. At the time of the study, not all campaigns were complete. Together, activists have requested more than $ 27 million in funding, according to the report.
"This money is at best wasted and at worst damaging.We think that this snapshot of the market we observed probably caused real damage, although we did not have a way to measure this damage," wrote authors.
Read the full article here.
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