FAQs: Stem Cells

Stem cells are “unspecialized” cells, meaning they are “blanks” that can multiply and remain as stem cells or develop into other types of cells that are required to repair or replace damaged tissue. Stem cells also have the capacity to secrete various compounds that can stimulate other cells to regenerate and repair.

The most common types of stem cells are Mesenchymal Stem cells, which reside mostly in adipose (fat) tissue and give rise to a variety of other cell types including bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle, fat cells, and other kinds of tissue. Hematopoietic Stem cells reside mostly in bone marrow tissue and form  all types of blood cells.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) are found in every single human being and they have the power to transform into many types of cells that your body needs, helping  regenerate tissue and restore health.

Physicians use adult MSC stem cell therapy for autoimmune, vascular, and degenerative conditions. This type of therapy is also being used successfully in situations  where conventional treatments have not been effective. Physicians and researchers throughout the world have published peer-reviewed results that are exciting and  promising. The medical community continues to learn and share how stem cell therapy can benefit humanity.

Each stem cell therapy is unique to a patient and his/her condition. Therefore, no general guarantee can be made of what results will be achieved or how soon results can be felt. However, patients may begin to experience results within a week with greater effects felt within 6 to 8 weeks. Depending on the severity of the patient’s condition and if multiple treatments are needed, it may take 6-9 months for results. Research has shown that in most adipose stem cell therapy cases, patients also reported a decrease in medication intake.

No. The physician applies local anesthesia to the area from where a very small amount of fat is removed (typically abdomen). This is done relatively fast and is practically painless.

Stem cells used for our therapies come from your own body and are “autologous adult” stem cells. ISCELLI does not harvest or transplant “embryonic stem cells” .(First few weeks of pregnancy only) and is therefore not related to any moral controversial debates.

Adipose derived stem cell transplants are not FDA approved. However, our procedure is compliant within the guidelines listed in the FDA Code of Federal Regulations 21 Part 1271. The United States has been using techniques such as autologous stem cell transplants, commonly known as bone marrow transplants, to help patients replace destroyed bone marrow caused by diseases such as leukemia, aplastic anemia, and certain inherited blood conditions for over 40 years. Bone marrow transplants are also not FDA approved, but they are also in compliance with CF21 Part 1271(121.15.b).

In the U.S., patients receive cultured stem cell therapy at some university hospitals as an FDA-approved trial. In Cancun, all our patients legally receive stem cell therapy as clinical studies at the Galenia Hospital in Cancun. Both the stem cell therapy and Galenia Hospital are approved by COFEPRIS (the FDA in US).

The Galenia Hospital in Cancun is highly credentialed and properly licensed for adult stem cell therapy by COFEPRIS (Mexico’s governmental authority equivalent to the FDA). All physicians practicing cellular therapy at the Galenia Hospital in Cancun have extensive stem cell therapy experience and are board certified. The practice in private clinics without the COFEPRIS licensing is illegal and most likely unsafe.

The cellular lab that we partner with has its own proprietary cell process technology to duplicate millions of expanded chromosomally, functionally, and characteristically identical mesenchymal stem cells (MSC).

No negative long-term effects to this procedure have been reported. The side effects of Adult Stem Cell Therapy that we have had over the years of practice are minimal and may include minor fever and joint aches. Soreness, swelling, or redness at the injection site usually last less than 24 hours.

It is quite unusual to find tumoral changes with the use of “adult” stem cells, and especially when the donor and recipient is the same person. The lab had its technology tested for tumorigenicity before the release of processed stem cells.