- Stem Cells Colombia uses one source: mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton’s jelly, applied by the specialist for your case.
- Joint and spine applications happen in an operating room with imaging, and the hotel is upstairs.
- Your plan and your price arrive in writing before you book a flight.
Choosing where to have stem cell therapy is a big decision, usually made at a kitchen table with a laptop, a cup of coffee going cold and a family member asking, “But why Colombia?”
Fair question. Instead of adjectives, here are the concrete things that make up a treatment at Stem Cells Colombia, so you can compare them with anything else you are considering.
What cells will you actually receive?
One kind, every time: mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton’s jelly, the soft tissue inside the umbilical cord, donated after healthy births. Bone marrow and fat are not used as a source.
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 a quality certificate and a checklist and release document that lists which tests were done and their results.
And the paperwork is yours too: you receive a quality certificate for each vial used in your treatment.
These cells mainly work by releasing signals that may help calm chronic inflammation and support the body’s own repair. Reviews describe umbilical cord cells as younger and more proliferative than cells from adult sources, and every plan is designed from the patient’s own case.
Who takes care of you?
Your case goes to the specialist who knows your condition, not a generalist. Joint and spine applications are performed by Dr. Diana Reyes, anesthesiologist and pain specialist, whose daily work is placing treatments exactly where they need to go, or by Dr. Esteban Toro, interventional pain physician. Together, the two lead doctors have performed more than 8,000 procedures. Before and after treatment you meet Dr. Felipe Salgado, who takes your history, reads your MRI or X-ray and passes your case to Dr. Reyes or Dr. Toro: two doctors working on your case.
Autoimmune cases are reviewed by a rheumatologist, diabetes and whole-body cases by a functional-medicine doctor, and face, hair and sexual health by the aesthetic doctor and urologist.
Where does the treatment happen?
In a fully equipped operating room, not a consulting office. Joints and soft tissue are treated under ultrasound guidance, the spine under fluoroscopy, a live X-ray. Depending on the procedure, you receive local anesthesia or sedation.
Your 4-star hotel is in the same building as the treatment center. After your application you ride the elevator upstairs, and rest there, one elevator away, with your coordinator checking on you.
What is included in the price?
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 before you travel. Flights and meals are not included.
Treatments start from $1,399 for the face, and you receive your exact plan and price in writing after your online consultation. Optional extras, such as a hyperbaric chamber session or an MRI in Medellín (from $200 per body area), are always quoted before you say yes.
What happens before and after?
It starts with a free case review on WhatsApp, then a video consultation with the doctor for your condition (for joints and spine, Dr. Salgado), who studies your imaging or blood work and designs your protocol. A specialist reviews your case first, so your plan is designed for you before you travel.
After you fly home, the doctor for your treatment follows up online: for joints and spine, Dr. Salgado; for intravenous protocols, with the same markers you started with. Every body responds at its own pace; improvement builds gradually and is usually expected at 4–6 months.
What do patients say?
Read the patients in their own words. The reviews are public on Google, written by the people who made the trip. A few, word for word:
- “The doctor and staff was very friendly and gentle during the process. Definitely recommended.” — Tom T., Google review
- “Amazing customer service leading up to the procedure as well as after.” — Tyson G., Google review
Notice what they talk about: the people, the care before and after, the feeling of being looked after in a new city. That is the part the team works hardest on, because it is the part you remember.
And why Medellín?
Medellín is served by José María Córdova International Airport, with direct flights from several U.S. cities, and it runs on the same time as U.S. Eastern Standard Time, so your jet lag stays mostly theoretical. Your hotel and treatment center are in El Poblado, and you won’t need a word of Spanish.
- Send your imaging or blood work for a free review before deciding anything.
- Compare written quotes, line by line, not headline numbers.
- Plan one day for most treatments, or four for an intravenous protocol, plus rest days.
Mesenchymal stem cells have been studied in many human trials. A 2020 meta-analysis of 55 randomized trials with 2,696 patients found no increase in infection, clotting problems, death or cancer with intravenous cells compared with controls; a temporary fever was the only effect seen more often. Laboratory reviews describe umbilical cord cells as more primitive and more proliferative than adult sources. Research is growing, and the doctors explain the evidence for your condition in your consultation.
- Cell therapy with intravascular administration of mesenchymal stromal cells continues to appear safe: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis · EClinicalMedicine, 2020
- Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells: the new gold standard for mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies? · Tissue Engineering Part B: Reviews, 2014
Questions
Is stem cell therapy approved by the FDA?
Stem cell therapy is not approved by the FDA, but in Colombia it is legal.
Is the first review really free?
Yes. The case review on WhatsApp is free and with no obligation.
What is checked first, for my safety?
Every IV protocol starts with cancer markers, for your safety. Everything else is reviewed case by case by your specialist.
Can I bring a companion?
Of course. Many patients travel with a partner or family member, and your coordinator helps you plan for it.
What can I count on?
A clear plan, a specialist for your case and someone beside you the whole way.