Stem-cell boosters 'not possible' Ministry

Using stem-cell therapy to enhance an athlete's performance is technically impossible at present, Ministry of Health officials said yesterday.

They said foreign media reports that some Chinese hospitals are offering gene doping to athletes to achieve better performances are not true.

"I learned from experts that using stem-cell therapy to enhance an athlete's performance is not possible at present, both in China and in other countries," Mao Qun'an, a Ministry of Health spokesman, said.