- A good clinic answers these ten questions clearly, in writing, before you pay anything.
- The big four: where the cells come from, who treats you, where, and how they see the target.
- Compare the full experience, not the headline price. Promises of a sure result are a red flag.
Picture yourself at the kitchen table with three browser tabs open, each one showing a smiling clinic and a price. They all say “stem cells.” They all look calm and clean. How are you supposed to tell them apart?
You ask. The International Society for Stem Cell Research, the main scientific body in this field, tells patients to find out where the cells come from, how they are processed and delivered, who is treating them, and what the plan is afterwards. That advice fits into ten plain questions. Take them to every clinic you are considering, including Stem Cells Colombia.
1. Where do the cells come from?
“Stem cells” is a family name, not a first name. Mesenchymal cells can come from bone marrow, from fat, or from the umbilical cord. A clinic should tell you which one without hesitating.
Stem Cells Colombia uses only mesenchymal cells from Wharton’s jelly, the soft tissue inside a donated umbilical cord. You don’t need a harvesting procedure on your own body first, and the starting material is young.
Every cord starts with a Colombian donor chosen through an exhaustive selection process. She and her family are screened to confirm that she is free of viruses, bacteria, infections and disease, and more tests are done after the cord is collected. Every batch the clinic receives comes with, besides the quality certificate, a checklist and release document that lists which tests were done and their results.
2. Can they tell you exactly what you are receiving?
Ask about the tissue source, how the cells were processed, how many times they were grown in the lab, and whether there is quality documentation for the product. A serious clinic has these answers on paper.
That last one matters. Every patient receives a quality certificate for each vial used in their treatment, so you are not taking “stem cells” on faith.
3. Who is actually treating you?
Ask who reviews your case, who performs the procedure, and what their specialty is. A cell application is a medical procedure, not a spa add-on.
The medical team is led by Dr. Diana Reyes, an anesthesiologist and pain specialist, working with an interventional pain physician, a rheumatologist, a functional medicine doctor, an aesthetic physician and a urologist. Your case goes to the one who fits it.
4. Where is the procedure done?
A doctor’s office with a nice plant is not an operating room. Ask whether the room is sterile, whether sedation or anesthesia is available, and what monitoring and emergency equipment are on hand.
The doctors treat in a fully equipped operating room with aseptic technique, a heart monitor, a pulse oximeter, a defibrillator and an emergency cart. You hope never to need the last two. You still want them in the room.
5. How do they know the cells reach the right spot?
This may be the most important question of all. If the target is a knee, a disc or a facet joint, ask how the doctor sees it during the procedure.
The targeted procedures at Stem Cells Colombia use ultrasound or fluoroscopy, a live X-ray view, depending on the anatomy. The lead doctors, Dr. Diana Reyes and Dr. Esteban Toro, have performed more than 8,000 procedures.
6. Do they explain what to expect, step by step?
Research in regenerative medicine is growing, and each condition has its own studies. A good clinic shows you what those studies found for your condition, and never sells you a guarantee.
You should hear the possible benefits, the usual timeline, the alternatives and the follow-up plan before you say yes.
7. What exactly is included in the price?
A low number can grow fast once you add the hotel, taxis, consultations, anesthesia and imaging. Ask for the full list in writing.
At Stem Cells Colombia, the price comes in writing. The starting price is the treatment itself: the cells, the application and a consultation with the doctor. The Marriott Hotel in the same building, airport pickup, transfers, sedation and exosomes can be added to your plan, and your coordinator sends that price in writing. Flights and meals are on you.
8. How much running around will you do?
Airport, hotel, clinic across town, imaging center somewhere else. After a procedure, every extra car ride feels twice as long.
At Stem Cells Colombia, the hotel and treatment center are in the same building. You walk over, not across the city.
9. Who helps you when you are not in the procedure room?
Treatment abroad raises small questions all day: where to be at eight, what the doctor just said, what to pack for the clinic. Ask who answers them.
Every patient gets a dedicated bilingual coordinator who is with you at each procedure, translates, and stays in touch after you fly home.
10. Why this city, and why this team?
Medellín has a strong medical sector, direct flights and spring-like weather all year, which beats recovering in a snowstorm. But choosing a good city is only half the decision.
You still have to choose the right team. That is what questions one to nine are for.
- Send every clinic the same ten questions and compare the answers side by side.
- Ask for the treatment plan, a quality certificate for each vial and the full price in writing.
- Start with Stem Cells Colombia: send your history on WhatsApp for a free evaluation, and get every answer, your plan and your price in writing, with no commitment.
These questions are not a clinic’s invention. The ISSCR guidelines ask clinics to be open about cell source, processing, delivery and follow-up, and researchers have documented how many businesses market stem cell treatments with little of that information. Mesenchymal cells also have an accepted scientific definition, which is why “what exactly am I receiving?” is a fair question with a real answer.
- ISSCR Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation: The 2021 update · Stem Cell Reports, 2021
- Selling Stem Cells in the USA: Assessing the Direct-to-Consumer Industry · Cell Stem Cell, 2016
- Minimal criteria for defining multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells. The International Society for Cellular Therapy position statement · Cytotherapy, 2006
Questions
What kind of stem cells do you use?
Only mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton’s jelly, the tissue inside donated umbilical cords. Stem Cells Colombia does not use bone marrow or fat.
Is the procedure done in an operating room?
Yes. Targeted procedures are done in a fully equipped operating room with aseptic technique, monitoring and emergency equipment, under ultrasound or fluoroscopic guidance.
What does the price include?
The treatment itself: the cells, the application and a consultation with the doctor. The Marriott Hotel in the same building as the treatment center, airport pickup, transfers, sedation and exosomes can be added to your plan, and your coordinator sends that price in writing. Flights and meals are not included.
How will I know what to expect?
A specialist reviews your case first, so your plan is designed for you. Every body responds at its own pace, and your specialist explains what may improve, when you could notice it and how your follow-up works.
Is stem cell therapy approved by the FDA?
Stem cell therapy is not approved by the FDA, but in Colombia it is legal.