Plan your visit with the patient guide, including visa checks, length of stay, what to expect and aftercare and follow-up.
On this page
- Step one — the first conversation
- Step two — records
- Step three — physician review
- Step four — the answer, including no
- Step five — understanding the proposal
- Step six — travel and treatment
- Step seven — afterwards, which matters most
- What this process is designed to prevent
- Frequently asked questions
- Requesting a medical evaluation
Most clinic pages describe a process in which every step leads to treatment. This one includes the step where it does not — because an assessment that cannot conclude “no” is not an assessment, and knowing in advance how that is handled tells you more than any description of a laboratory.
Step one — the first conversation
Tell us the condition, how long you have had it, what you have already tried, and what you are hoping for. Nothing is committed at this point and nothing needs to be paid.
The most useful thing you can bring is realistic expectations, and the most useful thing we can give you early is an honest signal about whether there is anything worth discussing at all.
For several conditions the answer at this stage is already no. Where that is the case, saying so immediately costs you nothing and saves a records review — see what the evidence levels mean.
Step two — records
This is where a serious assessment begins, and it happens before you travel rather than after you arrive.
- Imaging — X-rays, MRI or CT, with the radiologist’s report, not just the pictures
- Recent blood tests
- A list of every medication, including supplements
- Letters or summaries from specialists already involved
- Your diagnosis, when it was made and by whom
Reports matter as much as images. A radiologist’s description of what a scan shows is often more useful than the scan itself to someone who has not examined you.
If your imaging is more than a year or two old and the condition has progressed, expect to be asked for something current. Assessing a joint from a scan taken three years ago is guessing with extra steps.
Step three — physician review
A clinician reads the records and forms a view on three questions: what is actually wrong, whether published evidence supports any regenerative approach for that specific problem, and whether anything makes treatment inadvisable for you.
That last question is not a formality. Active malignancy, active infection, significant organ failure, pregnancy and poorly controlled comorbidity all appear as exclusions across the trial literature, and a clinic that has not asked about them has not assessed you.
Where standard care has not been exhausted, that is said. For knee osteoarthritis specifically, a completed exercise programme has evidence comparable to anything discussed here and is almost always the better next step — see osteoarthritis.
Step four — the answer, including no
Three outcomes are possible and all three happen.
Nothing worth offering. Either the evidence does not support treatment for your condition, or something makes it inadvisable for you. You are told plainly, with the reasoning.
Something else first. A course of standard treatment, a specialist opinion, or an investigation that should happen before anything elective.
A proposal. Cell type, source, dose, route, number of treatments, timeline, cost, and what the evidence for that specific combination actually is.
Step five — understanding the proposal
If a proposal is made, take it away and read it against the evidence pages on this site rather than against the enthusiasm of the conversation.
The questions worth asking are the same ones we would want asked of anybody: which trial used this cell type, at this dose, by this route, in this condition; what happens if it does nothing; and what is refundable at each stage.
Nobody should feel hurried. A treatment that is right this month is right next month, and pressure to decide quickly is itself information — see the main treatment page.
Getting a second opinion is reasonable and we would not discourage it. Take the proposal to your own doctor, or to another clinic, and compare what each says about the same records.
Step six — travel and treatment
Timeline depends heavily on cell source. Donor cells can be ready on arrival; autologous cells require a harvest followed by weeks of culture, which usually means two trips or an extended stay.
On the day, expect a further examination — a review of records is not a substitute for being looked at — followed by consent, the procedure itself, and a period of observation.
Most of this is unremarkable to watch. An intra-articular injection takes minutes; an infusion takes an hour or two — see international patients.
Step seven — afterwards, which matters most
You leave with documentation: what was given, from what source, at what dose, by what route, on what date, with batch identifiers.
That paperwork is not administrative. If a complication appears three weeks after you fly home, it is what allows a doctor who has never met us to act — see adverse events.
Follow-up is by arrangement, and honest follow-up includes recording when nothing improved. A clinic that only hears from its successes learns nothing, and neither does the field it claims to be advancing.
Tell your own doctor precisely what you had. “Stem cells” is not information anybody can act on; cell type, source, dose, route and date is — see MSC therapy.
What this process is designed to prevent
Somebody flying in for a treatment their imaging would have ruled out, had anyone looked at it beforehand.
Somebody paying for an unproven intervention while a straightforward and evidenced option sits untried.
And somebody arriving home with a vial label and no idea what they were given — see the research library.
The process costs more to run than a simpler one would, and it turns away people who would otherwise have paid. That is the intended effect rather than a side effect of it.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to send first?
Imaging with the radiologist’s reports, recent bloods, a full medication list and any specialist letters. Reports matter as much as the images.
Do I pay before the review?
The initial conversation commits you to nothing. Ask any clinic what is refundable at each stage before paying anything.
Could the answer be no?
Yes, and it is one of three possible outcomes. Either the evidence does not support treatment for your condition, or something makes it inadvisable for you.
How long does the whole thing take?
Donor cells can be ready on arrival. Autologous cells need a harvest then weeks of culture, which usually means two trips or a long stay.
Will I be examined, or is the record review enough?
You will be examined. Reading records is not a substitute for looking at someone.
What happens after I go home?
You leave with full documentation of what was given, and follow-up is arranged. That paperwork is what lets your own doctor act if anything arises.
Requesting a medical evaluation
Nothing on this page establishes whether any treatment is appropriate for you. That needs your history, your imaging and your current medications read by a clinician. If you would like that review, send your records and we will tell you honestly whether there is anything worth discussing — including when the answer is no.
This page is general information, not medical advice, and does not create a doctor–patient relationship. Regenerative treatments discussed here are in most cases investigational. Discuss any treatment with a clinician who knows your history.