Orthokine Therapy: The European Holiday for Athletes

When an athlete uses their body to make a living, they cannot afford to be sidelined due to injury. Pro athletes have always sought ways to stay healthy and have an edge over their competition. Everything from training devices to surgeries has been tried. Lately, steroids and human growth hormones have been used, and abused, by athletes for their healing effects. An alternative therapy used by pro-athletes to get them back on the field of play is platelet rich plasma therapy (PRP) which is a treatment used to combat muscle, joint, tendon and ligament injuries. The process involves centrifuging the patient's blood until it contains a concentrated mix of plasma cells and growth factors which is then injected directly into the injured tissue. Then there's what NBA champ Kobe Bryant and MLB All-Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez have done to get back in fighting shape -- Orthokine Therapy.   
                                         

Orthokine Therapy (OT) was created by Orthogen, a German-based company. The OT treatment differs from the PRP in that it uses a process where autologous conditioned serum (ACS) is generated by taking a sample of the patient's blood and incubating it in the presence of etched medical-grade glass beads. The ACS is similar to the PRP in that it is still the patient's own blood. The primary difference can be found in the glass beads which are used to grow immuno-factors and then spin down and re-injected into the affected joint or muscle. The second major difference: legality. Although the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) doesn't have Orthokine on its banned substance list, it hasn't been approved for use in the U.S. According to a story in the New York Post, Kobe Bryant, who had traveled overseas to get the therapy for his right knee and left ankle, was so pleased with the results that he shared the secret with Alex Rodriguez.  Bryant provided contact information for Dr. Peter Wehling, the molecular scientist who created the Orthokine treatment, with Rodriguez.

The question now is when will this procedure be allowed in the United States? If it is well-known that these world famous athletes are utilizing this procedure, why not allow them to have it done in the comfort of their own country?  Or, is the procedure another form of performance enhancement that should be deemed illegal?