Shanghai University Investigates Gene-Editing Trial After 6-Year-Old Girl Dies
The family paid $860,000 for the experimental treatment, and researchers allegedly omitted the girl’s death and funding from the Nature paper.
- On Monday, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine announced a comprehensive investigation into an experimental gene-editing trial led by neuroscientist Zilong Qiu at Xinhua Hospital, where a 6-year-old girl named Mei died after treatment.
- The girl's parents paid more than $860,000 to fund the trial, hoping to treat Mei's Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome, but she died from a severe immune reaction after researchers ignored warning signs that emerged in animal studies.
- Researchers omitted Mei's death from a study published in Nature, despite the hospital's ethics board concluding the fatality was "definitely related" to the treatment, according to an investigation by Science Magazine and Retraction Watch.
- Nature added an editor's note on July 29 to investigate the paper's data, while the medical school established a special task force to probe the incident after the family demanded action.
- Experts warn that this case demonstrates persistent gaps in regulatory transparency and safety, drawing comparisons to the 2018 He Jiankui scandal as China's biomedical industry expands.
38 Articles
38 Articles
An investigation by the journal 的Science and the specialized website Retraction Watch, published on 23 July, reveals that the clinical trial would have breached many ethical and safety rules. ...
Shanghai child’s death raises questions over experimental therapy rules
The investigation into a fatal experimental gene-editing trial at Shanghai’s Xinhua Hospital has become a test of whether China’s regulatory system can keep pace with the rapid expansion of its biomedical industry. Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine has formed a working group to examine the trial and a related scientific paper. The inquiry follows reports that a young girl died days after receiving an experimental treatment intended…
The Spectacle Ep. 448: Don’t Trust China To Alter Your Genes – The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
A six year old girl has passed away in China due to an experimental brain gene editing therapy gone wrong. The treatment, which cost over $800,000 to perform, involved injecting trillions of viruses with a base editor into her spinal fluid. (RELATED: Take Trump’s China Warning Seriously) The Spectacle Podcast hosts Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay discuss the dangers behind gene editing and how biotechnology has yet to be further studied. They…
One of the leading Chinese medical universities is investigating the death of a girl in an experimental genetic editing trial conducted by a leading expert at her affiliated hospital, an event that has raised serious concerns about the...
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 58% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium






















