Every year a large number of people travel internationally for regenerative cell therapy. Some go to research hospitals. Some go to operations that will treat anyone who can pay. Both describe themselves in similar language, and from a website it is genuinely hard to tell which is which.
This post is about how to tell. It applies to us as much as anyone.
Five questions
- What is the regulatory status of this therapy in the country where it is given? Not “is it legal” — what is its actual classification, and who oversees it.
- Who prescribes it, and can I speak to them before I book? If the first and only person you speak to is a salesperson, that tells you something.
- What would make you decline to treat me? A facility with no answer treats everyone, which means the decision is commercial.
- Will you speak to my own physician? Reluctance here is a significant signal.
- What outcome data do you have, and what is it actually based on? Testimonials are not data. Percentages without a described method are not data.
On the claims you will read
Regenerative medicine is a serious and active research field. It is also surrounded by marketing that runs a long way ahead of the evidence. If a page promises you a specific improvement in a specific condition, it is telling you more about its marketing department than its medicine.
We publish no outcome figures for this therapy. Individual responses vary and no outcome is promised or implied.
How it works here
It is available under medical prescription only, following diagnostics and a physician consultation, as part of a wider protocol. Some people who ask for it are not prescribed it. See stem cell therapy for the detail.
Mountains of Hope holds a Colombian IPS medical facility licence.